Silver Linings: Morduant’s Debut a Breezy, Formulaic Crowd Pleaser
After winning awards and audience accolades at nearly every film festival it’s screened at (including Berlin, Tribeca, and AFI), Australian documentarian Kim Morduant’s narrative debut, The Rocket, is sure to become an art-house favorite for its heartwarming tale of a young Laotian boy’s struggles, presented as it is without douses of miserablism, melodrama, or exploitation. A unique locale and cinematically underexplored group of people serves an intriguing jumping point into a tale that’s otherwise quite predictable, though enhanced by its ability to remain, simply, a tale of overcoming unfortunate circumstances.
In the Northern mountains of Laos, Mali (Alice Keohavong) gives birth to her son Ahlo, whose large testicles earn him the immediate nickname of “Little Balls” by grandmother Taitok (Bunsri Yindi). But soon after his delivery, she discovers that she’s about to give birth to twins,...
After winning awards and audience accolades at nearly every film festival it’s screened at (including Berlin, Tribeca, and AFI), Australian documentarian Kim Morduant’s narrative debut, The Rocket, is sure to become an art-house favorite for its heartwarming tale of a young Laotian boy’s struggles, presented as it is without douses of miserablism, melodrama, or exploitation. A unique locale and cinematically underexplored group of people serves an intriguing jumping point into a tale that’s otherwise quite predictable, though enhanced by its ability to remain, simply, a tale of overcoming unfortunate circumstances.
In the Northern mountains of Laos, Mali (Alice Keohavong) gives birth to her son Ahlo, whose large testicles earn him the immediate nickname of “Little Balls” by grandmother Taitok (Bunsri Yindi). But soon after his delivery, she discovers that she’s about to give birth to twins,...
- 1/7/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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