The Rocket
- 2013
- 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
Laos. In a land ravaged by war and exploitation, a boy whose family believe he is cursed must redeem himself by taking part in a dangerous rocket competition.Laos. In a land ravaged by war and exploitation, a boy whose family believe he is cursed must redeem himself by taking part in a dangerous rocket competition.Laos. In a land ravaged by war and exploitation, a boy whose family believe he is cursed must redeem himself by taking part in a dangerous rocket competition.
- Awards
- 28 wins & 31 nominations
Suthep Po-ngam
- Purple
- (as Thep Phongam)
Boonsri Yindee
- Taitok
- (as Bunsri Yindi)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was banned in Laos. Even though the production crew were closely supervised by Lao government minders and the script was carefully vetted by government censors, certain scenes and dialogue were deemed "too sensitive" for release to the Lao people post production. Some examples are the display of communities being forced from their traditional homes by the flooding of valleys for hydro electric schemes and the comments about the country producing electricity for export whilst an insufficient supply is allowed for domestic consumption.
- SoundtracksAdeed huk thi Nongkhai
Performed by Fongsamouth Phangnalay
Lyrics by Khamsaone Phonesavanh
Featured review
The Rocket is effective, simple storytelling with many layers and a film that tells more stories than its narrative suggests.
Trekking through the dangerous jungles of Laos, 10-year old Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe) is determined to convince his superstitious family that he is not a lightning rod for bad luck.
Blessed with a nutty uncle obsessed with James Brown (Thep Phongam) and caught in the middle of a village relocation program over the building of a dam, Ahlo's eventful journey takes him through the scarred landscape of his home, littered with Vietnam-era bombs that are still waiting to go off.
Australian writer/director Kim Mordaunt was inspired to make this wistful, often lyrical film after his 2007 documentary Bomb Harvest, which told of the annual toll claimed by the unexploded bombs in Laos.
Thankfully he layers the unavoidable political notes with real warmth, humour and character, a quality that clearly benefited from using a mix of professional and non-professional actors. Mordaunt also knows how to use irony without pushing it; as Ahlo aims to prove his worth at a big rocket festival, we're reminded that The Rocket is not a political allegory, it's an offbeat, celebratory coming-of-age story about a kid.
Blessed with a nutty uncle obsessed with James Brown (Thep Phongam) and caught in the middle of a village relocation program over the building of a dam, Ahlo's eventful journey takes him through the scarred landscape of his home, littered with Vietnam-era bombs that are still waiting to go off.
Australian writer/director Kim Mordaunt was inspired to make this wistful, often lyrical film after his 2007 documentary Bomb Harvest, which told of the annual toll claimed by the unexploded bombs in Laos.
Thankfully he layers the unavoidable political notes with real warmth, humour and character, a quality that clearly benefited from using a mix of professional and non-professional actors. Mordaunt also knows how to use irony without pushing it; as Ahlo aims to prove his worth at a big rocket festival, we're reminded that The Rocket is not a political allegory, it's an offbeat, celebratory coming-of-age story about a kid.
helpful•283
- AgentDice
- Dec 16, 2013
- How long is The Rocket?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- A$2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $56,823
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,621
- Jan 12, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $449,064
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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