The small, Southeast Asian country Laos has very few pins in its cinematic map. With a cultural history as rich as its neighbouring nations Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and China, the state has a very limited, almost non-existent, filmic output. Considering how turbulent its socio-political status has been over the course of the 20th century, it is surprising that there has been such little activity distributed outside of Laos, not only in cinema but contemporary art at large. The Rocket is one of the first Laotian films to have an international circulation; therefore much rides on its success both as a receptive film, but also as an initial emblem of Laotian cultural heritage. Luckily, the film manages to remain sympathetic to both issues, and ends up a surprisingly successful and moving film within all of its constraints and expectations. Even though the film is technically an Australian production (director Kim Morduant is Australian and the film is developed through Screen Austraila and Screen NSW), much care is placed in maintaining a Laotian authority and authenticity. The film is shot entirely in Laos, with the cast and much of the crew being native Laotians, allowing the film to remain in its native tongue.
The Rocket opens with the birth of young boy Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe), who is born a twin to a stillborn sibling. Present at the birthing are his mother Mali (Alice Keohavong) and his grandmother Taitok (Bunsri Yindi), who are both aware of their customary tradition that of any set of twins, one is born cursed and the other good, and thus they both must be “removed”. Due to the stillborn nature of the other twin, Ahlo’s mother decides to covertly bury said other child much to the disapproval of Taitok who warns of potential future bad luck at his very presence. This prologue sets the tone for the rest of the film, a constant observance of a collision of old and new world mentalities, as Ahlo’s very existence lies in opposition to his tribe’s traditions. The film goes on to follow a young Ahlo as he and his family (with his now present father Toma (Sumrit Warin)) face forced relocation from their village due to the development of a second immense industrial dam on the land they inhabit. Exploring the troubles of modernising countries rooted in a traditional mindset and social structure, The Rocket sets its sights high, maintaining a small scale balance between two worlds inside of a larger political struggle for a nation’s identity.
Improvising.
His grandmother naturally blames Ahlo for the transfer of villages to completely insubstantial (and undeveloped) properties, and after a traumatic incident involving his mother in the move, his status as a cursed child is exposed, causing him much personal grief. He soon becomes friends with a young girl named Kia (Loungnam Kaosainam) and her eccentric uncle Purple (played by comedian Thep Phongam). Purple naturally sports a purple suit (of which he has apparently never taken off), and has a wild obsession with the godfather of soul, James Brown. He is a social outcast, yet his outsider positioning allows him certain insights, which bestow upon the impressionable Ahlo a rebellious spirit (much akin to James Brown’s own empowering cultural stature), allowing Ahlo to challenge his surroundings. He begins to question his father and grandmother’s steadfast definition of his cursed state and also the conditions to which the government has relocated his people. In one sequence he re-routes electricity from a powered management station to Purple’s unpowered flat, and pays for his disobedience. The consequence does not outshine the deed though, as the act ignites a flame that eventually leads Ahlo to single-handedly design a rocket to enter into a local festival in an attempt to win the cash prize and save his family’s displacement issues while in the process displaying his clean and pure soul.
Purple provides a sly anti-authoritarian voice to the controlled and traditional proceedings, yet it is the fact that he is understood to have helped American forces during the Indochina war that is most worthy of note. Purple seems to embody the ghosts of war that haunt the entire nation and their people. Physically, the war manifests itself in the constant presence of active explosives that litter the landscape (of which the characters refer to as “sleeping tigers”) and the numerous victims of warfare, sometimes missing limbs and sometimes missing a presence entirely. Purple’s behaviour seems to acknowledge a wounded war veteran; he is a frequent consumer of rice wine and occupies a fringe social position. His enthusiasm for Western culture both places him on said fringe and allows him a certain perspective on his culture’s traditions and rituals. His lack of integration into the old world of tradition reflects a nation that not only seems to struggle with the recognition of its war torn history, but is also uncertain about its industrial future.
Living in Laos.
The Rocket is a film that manages to keenly balance socio-historical responsibility and a narrative focus that will potentially play well with a larger audience. The film never seems to be an overt balancing act however, as the proceedings evolve naturally and effortlessly. This mostly rests on the superb cast, who command authenticity and yet also manage to evoke acute emotional reactions where necessary. Director Kim Morduant presents a fairly typical yet engaging visual flair that dabbles just enough in fable and poetic realism, giving the film a welcomed grounded otherworldliness. The Rocket seems to evoke some of the issues of Laos as a developing nation with care and insight and does so in a wholly empathetic manner. You’ll be hard pressed to find another Laotian film in cinemas this year, and with The Rocket being as good a film as it is, that fact seems a veritable shame.
Written by Simon Di Berardino.
The Rocket will screen as part of the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival with an eventual release through Curious Distribution on the 29th of August 2013.
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