Superficially, this charmer seems like it could be a Laotian variation on Whale Rider, the decade-old surprise hit about a Maori girl who triumphs despite her grandfather’s efforts to discourage her. It’s also a story about people from a traditional culture colliding with modern ways, and also features a not-so-loving grandparent. In this case, Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe) is a small boy, and his grandmother is the discouraging one, believing that Ahlo, as the only survivor of twins, brings bad luck.
A forced relocation (to make way for a dam project) brings tragedy to Ahlo and his family, but this movie is not a lamentation about the loss of traditional culture, and not a melodrama, but basically, in the end, a feel-good film about Ahlo’s spirited attempt to break his supposed curse via a contest. Along the way he befriends a little girl being taken care of, or maybe taking care of, what must be Laos’s number one James Brown disciple (he even looks like the Godfather of Soul). The ending to the story feels a bit too easy, but a lot of charm and originality should overcome most such objections. If the subtitles are not a bar, this may even appeal to kids, who should appreciate the independence of its young hero.
IMDb link
viewed 10/22/13 7:10 pm at Ritz East [Philadelphia Film Festival screening] and posted 10/22/13
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