Arrived at Nova after work; I was wanting to see Don't Come Knocking, the new Wim Wenders (well, actually what I most want to watch at the moment is the new Pirates of the Caribbean, but that wasn't really on the cards), but both Swee Leng and Wei were keen on Wah-Wah so I allowed myself to be overruled. Took said overruling in good grace, though - of course! - not least because I could hardly begrudge the chance to see Emily Watson and Gabriel Byrne on screen together.
Had had a couple of capsule reviews from people who'd seen the film before - one gave me the impression that it was good but kind of a downer, the other was along the lines (his words, not mine) that it was a film that you'd take your grandmother to. In the event, I think that the latter was closer to the mark, though I could see where the first comment was coming from too. I liked Wah-Wah - its account of latter-day colonial British mores (Swaziland in 1969 as it moved towards independence from imperial rule) is funny, squirm-worthy and, if frequently biting, also essentially fond or at least ultimately merciful, I think. In many ways, it's a film which doesn't go anywhere in particular - and my antipathy towards coming of age tales remains as strong as ever - but there's a pleasing, subtle flavour of loss and nostalgia to it, and some interesting stuff going on with camera work etc, and in the end it's quietly moving, too. Glad I saw it.
