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Poster for The Rocket

The Rocket

2013 · 1h 36m · N/A Drama
Directed by Kim Mordaunt

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Overview

Set against the lush backdrop of rural Laos, this spirited drama tells the story of scrappy ten-year-old Ahlo, who yearns to break free from his ill-fated destiny. After his village is displaced to make way for a massive dam, Ahlo escapes with his father and grandmother through the Laotian outback in search of a new home. Along the way, they come across a rocket festival that offers Ahlo a lucrative but dangerous chance to prove his worth.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
96%
Tomatometer
Fresh

In some ways, it feels like a throwback to many '80s teen movies, where everything comes down to a competition at the end, and the hero will finally get the chance to prove his worth.

Erik McClanahan, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fresh

It follows a search for personal salvation while painting a portrait of Laotian life that's both revealing and relatable.

Tom Long, Detroit News
Fresh

A powerful, deeply moving drama about a young boy who comes to terms with the tragedies that have befallen his family by creating a thing of beauty - a gorgeous, high-flying rocket emitting triumphant bursts of color - out of refuse left by the war.

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer
Fresh

Mordaunt doesn't always succeed at balancing the sentimental, the political and the ethnographic, but at its strongest the story is a seamless melding of history's dark undertow and a child's indefatigable optimism.

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

Long on atmosphere and less sentimental about poverty than "Beasts of the Southern Wild," the film carries a potent charge of authenticity.

Kyle Smith, New York Post

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