The Rocket
Starring: Sitthiphon Disamoe, Loungnam Kaosainam, Suthep Po-ngam
Director: Kim Mordaunt
Rating: 4/5
Kim Mordaunt returns to the director's chair this week with his brand new coming of age drama The Rocket.
Laos: A boy (Ahlo, 10), who is believed to bring bad luck, is blamed for a string of disasters.
When his family loses their home and are forced to move, Ahlo meets the spirited orphan Kia (9) and her eccentric uncle Purple: an ex-soldier with a purple suit, a rice-wine habit, and a fetish for James Brown.
Struggling to hang on to his father's trust, Ahlo leads his family, Purple and Kia through a land scarred by war in search of a new home.
But bad luck seems to follow Ahlo, and in a last plea to prove he's not cursed, Ahlo builds a giant explosive rocket to enter the most lucrative but dangerous competition of the year: The Rocket Festival.
As the most bombed country in the world shoots back at the sky, a boy will reach to the heavens for forgiveness.
First and foremost, The Rocket is a beautiful movie as Mordaunt has used the landscape and scenery of Laos to wonderful effect.
The Rocket may be a stunning film to look at, but it is also a heart-breaking film, as the director tackles the issues of war and the displacement that happens because of war.
While these two themes do feature very strongly, it is a coming of age story at heart and the youthful fight and spirit is really celebrated in this movie.
The Rocket is a powerful drama about love, loss, and hope that really will charm you. It might not quite blow you away as it is perhaps missing the knockout emotional blow.
Mordaunt had remarkable access to real rituals and festivals during the film of The Rocket, and this brings a real authenticity and power to this movie.
We are given a look into a world that perhaps we don't see on the big screen all that often: it really is quite refreshing.
Sitthiphon Disamoe makes his acting debut as Ahlo, and the lack of acting experience really does work in the film's favour.
There is a freeness that comes with not understanding how to behave in front of a camera, as the director manages to capture real childlike moments that wouldn't be as powerful and moving if they were staged.
Disamoe really does give a terrific performance - you wouldn't know that he was making his debut.
In all The Rocket is a very touching movie and unlike anything else I have seen on the big screen so far this year.
The Rocket is released 14th March.