On screen, a curse haunts The Rocket; off screen, an unmistakable omen also lingers. The former is seen as evidence of ill will as dictated by the film’s narrative, while the latter stems from heightened expectations – but thankfully only one comes to fruition.
For the first fictional feature from writer/director Kim Mordaunt, signs both auspicious and less so come with the territory. Returning to the superstitious landscape of Laos that so aptly informed his acclaimed 2007 documentary Bomb Harvest, the filmmaker delicately delves into the spiritual underpinnings of the war-torn nation’s populace to tell a tale of mystery and history, and of tradition coming into conflict with modernity.
Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe) is marked from his first breath by his fearsome grandmother (Bunsri Yindi), initially for his status as a twin in a culture unwelcoming to multiple births, and then for surviving when his brother is stillborn. His mother (Alice Keohavong, To Face the Sun) refuses to heed the warnings against him, regarding her offspring with only an adoring eye; however her devotion can’t dispel the family’s spate of bad luck.
Ten years later, loss and displacement add to their rampant misfortune, leading Ahlo’s father (Sumrit Warin, The Burma Conspiracy) to ponder the source of their troubles. Yet Ahlo won’t accept his label willingly, even as they traverse the countryside looking for a new home to call their own. Taking inspiration from fellow outsiders Purple (Thep Phongam) and Kia (Loungnam Kaosainam) – one a James Brown-loving eccentric, the other his innocent niece accustomed to a life of exclusion – Ahlo takes a leap of faith to change his fate, and his ill-fitting reputation.
In its content and assembly, balance proves the key to The Rocket: hardship is accompanied by hope, social commentary is paired with a sense of magical realism, and a coming-of-age endeavour is tempered with the truth of its setting. The masterful Mordaunt understands the importance of matching his always respectful, never sensationalised portrait of a beleaguered third-world reality with the catharsis a journey towards redemption and reconciliation brings, but of the earned and earnest rather than manufactured and manipulative variety.
Indeed, within the sumptuously-composed frames – each a vibrant, lived-in testament to the work of cinematographer Andrew Commis (Underground: The Julian Assange Story), not to mention energetically compiled by editor Nick Meyers (Sleeping Beauty) – it is tenacity that resonates, driving the characters forward as one tragedy after another threatens their tentative existence. The feature’s titular object, both a conventional symbol of soaring hopes and the opportunity its protagonist needs to dispel his dark shadow, literally and figuratively explodes with the unbridled emotion.
With the enchantment and magnetism that earned the film audience awards at the 2013 Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals on display for its duration, The Rocket becomes that rare crowd-pleaser, not only captivating with its optimism in the face of adversity, and charming through some of the best untrained performances seen on film in recent years, but compelling in its astute handling of its real-world context. At its conclusion, the only prophecy fulfilled is that of striking cinema, with its affection and enthusiasm not easily or willingly shaken.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
The Rocket
Director: Kim Mordaunt
Australia, 2013, 96 mins
Release date: 29 August
Distributor: Curious
Rated: M
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