The Errol Flynn House is bringing a treat to those gentlemen who appreciate brilliant cinema and is showing the highly acclaimed ‘The Rocket’ for Northampton audiences in early April. Gentlemen, we suggest you give it a watch.

Australian documentary-maker Kim Mordaunt’s multi-award winning film first appeared at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival and has since gone on to win the Best First Feature at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Amnesty International Film Prize and the Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film at the Tribeca Film Festival along with a host more awards.

The Rocket
The Rocket. Source: impawards.com

Set in Laos, Kim Mordaunt’s debut fiction feature is one of beauty, gentleness and tragedy. The tale focuses on Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe), a young Loatian boy believed by his village, family and by himself to be cursed with bad luck. After a terrible disaster ensues that forces Ahlo and his family to find a new home, the exciting adventure begins for the family’s search for a new home and Ahlo’s voyage to prove to himself and everyone around him that his curse can be overcome. Along with his orphan friend Kia (Loungnam Kaosainam) and her drunken, whacky uncle nicknamed Purple (Thep Phongam), the plucky child believes he can win the dangerous and exciting Rocket Festival by building a giant rocket.

The Rocket
The Rocket. Ahlo, Purple and Kia. Source: tribecafilm.com

Mordaunt’s first fiction film seems to be borne from his 2007 documentary, ‘Bomb Harvest’, which focused on an Australian bomb disposal specialist, tasked with clearing a vast amount of unexploded bombs dropped on Laos over the course of the Vietnam war. Along with children who collect the metal from the exploded bombs, the documentary highlights the risk these unexploded devices still pose to children and seems to be a running motif into ‘The Rocket’.

Featuring stunning backdrops from a war scarred land; Mordaunt delivers a feel good film that manages to draw out beauty and happiness from a potentially tragic and depressing subject matter, with the legacy of war visible at every turn. A shining example of world theatre at its finest and a film that we highly recommend you go to see. The film also received 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is no mean feat.

Screening Dates:
Wed 2 April 6:15pm
Thu 3 April 8:30pm
www.errolflynnhouse.com

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