werewolfkings Review of Wah-Wah

Wah-Wah (2005)

Extremely affecting (especially if you lived through a divorce)

[3 June 2006]

I have never been to Swaziland and was never been a member of the colonial junket, but this film really spoke to me. *Minor Spoiler*The story is about a boy growing up as his father slowly descends into alcoholism after his first wife leaves him. I shared this same background, and I must say that this is probably the best film I have ever seen on the subject of how a child has to live through the raggy relationships of their parents. The beautiful Swaziland backdrop and the comments on the decadence of the late colonial period are just icing on the poisonous cake that the young man has to survive in order to become a man. Sure, it has some corny moments in it, and some occasional points where the reality of the world is slightly torn by a clumsy edit or an obviously fake or too autobiographical scene, but I love this film so much that I can ignore these faults (if faults they are).