The Rocket 2013

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Long on atmosphere and less sentimental about poverty than "Beasts of the Southern Wild," the film carries a potent charge of authenticity. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The characters may be cliches, but the performances are utterly fresh. Read more

Ronnie Scheib, Variety: The adventures of a 10-year-old Laotian boy are subject to radically different interpretations in The Rocket, Australian documentarian Kim Mordaunt's impressive narrative debut. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It follows a search for personal salvation while painting a portrait of Laotian life that's both revealing and relatable. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, Film.com: If you aren't moved by the "The Rocket" your heart is defective Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Formulaic but likeable. Read more

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: 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. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: Disamoe demonstrates the resourcefulness he learned during a period when he was a street seller and beggar. It's his exuberant performance, as much as the pungently naturalistic setting, that lifts The Rocket's scenario above the generic. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: A pretty, somewhat sleepy and finally strange once-upon-a-time tale... Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: 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. Read more

Erik McClanahan, Minneapolis Star Tribune: 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. Read more

Andrew Frisicano, Time Out: Kim Mordaunt's when-life-gives-you-land-mines tale is light on well-drawn characters, but its performances, especially from the nonprofessional junior members, more than light the fuse for the finale. Read more

John Oursler, Village Voice: A coming-of-age tale infused with fantastic elements that more than compensate for its predictability. Read more