The Rocket [2013]

April 10, 2016

We live our lives obsessing over new Star Wars movies, mobile phones, video games, and different marijuana strains. And during all that time people that live in other countries are dealing with raw life. Much like The Beautiful Country, this movie takes you to a different world. This is not just a visually different world, but a completely unique place in space and time. A place where people care about different things. It will change your perspective about a lot of things. And it’s exactly the type of movie that you can rant on and on about to your hipster friends.

Breathtaking nature, destinies set by primitive beliefs that still count the most and more importantly extremely lovable characters of The Rocket will capture your heart. The main story is as tragic (tragic) and as simple as they get. It serves as the glue that holds many concepts explored here. The more and more I watch these movies documenting just how fucked up we are as a species, the more I lose faith in humanity. Manifesting through ruthless capitalism, the tribal system of values is something that all countries on this planet are yet to shed. Hopefully, it will happen before we end up in one of those dystopian movies. Although I think that the complete annihilation of human life on Earth is a more likely scenario.

Deep in the mountains of Laos, Mali gives birth to twins. Unfortunately, one of them dies, which is considered a bad omen. So, the living twin Ahlo is now faced with a lifetime of blame. However, this is not the worst thing that’s going to happen to him as new dam cuts right through his village and he’s forced to leave his home. Placed in a make-shift camp, the family is torn with sadness and despair. Soon, they leave the camp in search of a better life, roaming through post-war Laos ridden with mines and unexploded bombs.

War, war never changes. And here, as well as elsewhere, we see its terrible consequences. Just imagine how many places there are full of minefields and other deadly war contraptions. When you add a “booming economy” to this, you get the stick, as well as the little guy living anywhere else on the planet. It’s just so damn unfair. Back to the movie; yes this is quite depressing so far, but trust me, it will grow on you and you will accept its depression just as a fact of life. Especially towards the second part of the movie that’s much more positive and hopeful.

Camera-work was excellent, not that you need that much work with such a vivid and exotic environment. Accompanying great visual style was atmospheric and hopeful music, completing this teleporter of a movie and taking you somewhere far, far away. Well, not unless you live in Laos or Vietnam. With a running time of just under ninety minutes, The Rocket is not one of those boring dramas that take forever to unfold. It’s more straight-forward, telling the story with confidence and great insider knowledge.