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The Rocket (12A)
Directed by Kim Mordaunt
5 Stars
Set in Laos, The Rocket is a poignant fairy tale about Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe), a 10-year-old from a poor rural family.
Believed to bring bad luck, he is blamed for a string of disasters and his family is forced to move by the authorities to a new village. There he meets the orphan Kia (Loungnam Kaosainamand) and her eccentric ex-soldier uncle Purple (Thep Phongam), who has a passion both for rice wine and James Brown.
With Ahlo leading the way, his family and new acquaintances search for a home - not an easy task in a land scarred by war and strewn with the unexploded bombs dubbed "sleeping tigers" which were dropped by the US.
To find the money for a new place and to prove that he is not cursed, Ahlo builds a giant rocket to enter the most lucrative but dangerous competition of the year, the rocket festival.
The resulting story, set against the backdrop of a war-ravaged country, is a personal journey through grief, guilt and self-doubt.
It's a poignant metaphor, recalling the tragic history of a country - the most bombed in the world by the US in the period from 1964 to 1973- which courageously keeps moving forward while holding on to its traditions and identity.
A powerful and moving tale which tackles head-on one of the most violent episodes in imperialist oppression, The Rocket is authentic, compassionate and a valuable expression of shared memory and humanity.
