The best movie I've watched this year. It is a beautiful story and at times hard to watch but with a lovely ending and it is full of lovely characters. One of those examples of great child acting. Super recommend it.

A great movie with beautiful images and an interesting insight into the also culture. It is best to watch in also for maximum authenticity. I thoroughly enjoyed the new perspective on Laos' history and the people's attitude towards it.

After a tragic death in the family, a young boy's grandma finally has the excuse to blame him for everything. It's a struggle to defeat his own doubts as everyone else's.

A bit contrived but well done. Told a good story in a short time.

"Feel-good" is not really the way I would describe this dramatic film of impoverished people in the far-off Eastern country of Laos. It's a film filled with hardships, loss and the desperation of simply wanting to belong. Yes, it was a very good film but the only real 'feel-good' moment comes from its finale. Overall, a solid film but far too heavy for what I would consider feel-good.

An Australian co-production that deserves to be seen by a lot more than would've currently experienced it, The Rocket is one of those feel good films that is impossible not to fall for despite it not quite going on with the early promise of the possibility of a new classic. Director Kim Mordaunt clearly has a spot in his heart for the people of Laos (where this film is set), no doubt stemming from his time filming his scary and touching documentary on the amount of unexploded bombs left over in the country in the 2007 doco Bomb Harvest. Weaving his knowledge of this true life aspect of the country Mordaunt tailors a touching story around it that features some stand out child actors and a particularly groovy uncle in the form of the James Brown loving Uncle Purple played very well by Suthep Po-ngam, but in the end it is the aforementioned child actors that steal the film and make it what it is. As determined and supposedly cursed young boy Ahlo young actor Sitthiphon Disamoe does a supreme job of portraying a boy that unfortunately bares the stigma of being born a twin into a village that believes twins carry a curse. Ahlo's journey that he takes with family is fraught with both sadness and joy and it's here that the film struggles to lay hold onto what it's setting out to achieve with moments of emotion not played out to full effect and comedic elements feeling misplaced amongst them. Mordaunt must of found it hard to place all these varying emotions into the right place and the films last 20 - 30 minutes really shows this. Mordaunt however excels at capturing the beautiful and at times scary images of the country and his direction of Disamoe and also young actress Loungnam Kaosainam as Ahlo's friend Kia is exemplary, a fine achievement for an Australian director in what is an area that often trips up other compatriots. Submitted as Australia's entry into this year's Academy Awards foreign film category and playing well to festivals the world over its clear many feel an affection for this unique and often heart-warming tale. Australia should be proud of what Mordaunt has achieved here and even prouder of his efforts to highlight the horror of what Laos still has to deal with today thanks to a war that is now sadly largely forgotten. 3 and a half unwashed purple suits out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com

Decent. It's not charming or riveting enough to be noteworthy. Good ending.

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This Laos set effort balances crowdpleasing fantasy with a rich sense of place, and mostly pulls that tricky balancing act off. Australian director Kim Mordaunt was a former documentarian who spent a lot of time in Laos, and the film significantly benefits from someone so intimate with the country - the setting is one of tradition, natural beauty, superstition, corruption, class conflict (ironic for a Communist state) and dangerous unexploded bombs left over from 20th century wars. It has an affection for its characters, but features a bittersweet realism lacking in a couple of other comparable efforts (Slumdog Millionaire, say). The tale itself - the journey of a young boy trying to shake off his grandmother's claim that he's cursed - does have a fantastical feelgood vibe, but it's more justified given the complex and at times quite provocative film that surround it. A happy ending feels more 'earned' when the preceding narrative is one haunted by death and complex social contexts. It does come across as quite unevenly paced at times, and there's not a whole lot to any of the characters (performances are strong). Or indeed the main story: you've seen it before - most recently, it's reminiscent of Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Selfish Giant (that particularly packs a greater punch). But above all it's refreshing to see generally unexplored cultures and settings portrayed so vividly on the big screen, and with a documentarian's eye ensuring it isn't bogged down by the often troubling shortcuts many Western filmmakers take when dealing with 'exotic' locales.

While it runs into problems of being predictable at times, and suffers from having a story that is told quite often, The Rocket captives us with the strong character of it's protagonist, Ahlo and appeals to our sense of justice. It's a beautiful story of overcoming the parts of us that deep down we all dislike, but always seems to stay with us.

what a nice, intelligent movie

It's a tad too inspiring, but The Rocket features some fantastic directing and cinematography held aloft by a near perfect child performance by the lead actor.

As much as people disparage the Red states, the level of superstition and mysticism left in the world is at times mind-boggling, as evidenced through the culture depicted. Made me want to slap the grandmother every time she derided her grandson for such stupid reasons. Otherwise, an uplifting movie (besides the death and abject poverty). Well done film from a child's perspective. After watching the trials the boys went through in October Sky, I find the rocket scenes a little unbelievable (that the boy got it right the first time, without any metallurgy or precise chemical recipes for the rocket fuel), but it's possible to overlook such matters.

A one of a kind gem! Don't miss it!

I guess this little gem took me by surprize. Never read much about it, never saw the trailer, but I saw it got a whole lot of awards. A very imaginative plot it's about a boy from Laos that everyone thinks is nothing but trouble. He and his family lives in a simple environment to say least. They need to get a move on and they never stay in the same place for long. This is also a vital part of the film. It never stands still. Moments come up, old moments are cared for - this is taking a whole lot of depth and content - at it does so brilliantly. Cool characters and amazing child acting from very charming kids. it got a realistic feel, but not a documentary groove. It's a visual, intense and beautiful story with several moments that will make you smile. It's almost a great film for kids as well, it's just a little too raw at times. A warm and very cultural film with an anstonishing climax. 8.5 out of 10 bats.

"Its not ones birth star decides whether he is lucky or unlucky, its his inspiring deed that decide whether he is lucky to others or not'' well, luck is just an unpredictable phenomena, its not something that to be imposed on the basis of time or situation. 2013's Australian's Lao movie ''The Rocket'' neatly narrates the story of a boy by the name Ahlo who was fist believed to be the curse to their family later turn out to be an actual lucky champ to the entire village, this movie is about the tribal family who migrate in search for the permanent settlement but faces various problems due to Ahlo's mischief, the entire thing turns around when Ahlo shows an interest to participate in a traditional rocket competition to score a prize money for his family settlement, but entire family disapprove his intention of participating in the competition because of his bad luck, in such situation Ahlo's only hope was his friend 'Purple' who helps him in building a rocket for the competition, villagers believed that the rocket which goes high in the air explodes the cloud and brings rain, Ahlo's strong dedication and hope makes him the winner of that competition and at last his rocket brings rain to the village, thus Ahlo turn to be the lucky one. The way the movie had been taken is so fantastic, entire making is fine and neat, those little artists are just mind blowing, this film has come very well with great realistic performance by the entire cast, irony, emotion are properly mixed and presented together, it's an awesome work with some little mega-mini talents.

A well crafted feel good movie. The young Laotian leads are excellent.

charming, but not very,,

Full of feeling, we instantly empathise with the characters. A great story, with a feel good ending.

A heartening tale of traditional belief against he backdrop of exploitation by conglomerate. Excellent acting from the young stars.