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Poster for Wah-Wah

Wah-Wah

2005 · 120 min

A bittersweet, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story with sharp wit and raw emotion, set against a fading colonial backdrop.

Directed by
Richard E. Grant
Genres
Drama
Tagline
Every family has its own language.
Overview
Set at the end of the 1960s, as Swaziland is about to receive independence from United Kingdom, the film follows the young Ralph Compton, at 12, through his parents' traumatic separation, till he's 14.

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Directed by
Richard E. Grant
Genres
Drama
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • coming-of-age
  • grief
  • addiction
  • betrayal
Places
  • countryside
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour5
Realism8
Romance3
Tension4
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight8

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Cast

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Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Richard E. Grant
Written by
Richard E. Grant
Starring
Nicholas Hoult, Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Julie Walters, Miranda Richardson, Celia Imrie, Zac Fox, Julian Wadham
Music
Patrick Doyle
Cinematography
Pierre Aïm
Runtime
120 min
Country
Swaziland, France, South Africa, United Kingdom
Languages
English

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