WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Finding the means to escape our hard circumstances. Of course this is more often easier said than actually accomplished, but by no means is it an impossible feat. To stand up to things that are doing their best to keep us down and remain resolute to change it all can be tedious and painful, or a much-needed release from that which has been hurting our chances to pursue opportunity. When we DO choose to take action, how much more does it impact our sense of self when an unexpected convergence with another takes us in directions we never could have otherwise found? In Laos, young orphan Satu (Itthiphone Sonepho) has a life within a local temple. However, when a discovery of historical but dangerous significance threatens the temple’s serenity, Satu’s curiosity about his past leads him to befriend a student photojournalist named Bo (Vanthiva Saysana) and embark on the most integral adventure he’s ever known–to find his mother Dara (Sonedala Sihavong).
Next, my Mind:
Gorgeously shot, deeply affecting, and filled with the kinds of life lessons that we’ve all faced or need to acknowledge more adeptly, with grander courage, and far more inward belief in our own self-worth, this 93-minute indie feature film from writer/director/executive producer/editor Joshua Trigg, producers Mimm Chainontee, James Chegwyn (who also handled cinematography as well), Emanuele Costantini, Lee Phongsavanh, Rory Rooney, and Suthida Sihasavetra, co-producer Brandon Hashimoto, executive producers Ishaan Chandhok, Noel Goodwin, Alistair Joy, and Staffan Mahlen plus associate producers Gareth C Brown, Mariana Garcia Carrizosa, Katherine Dixon, and Alexander Newland is another definitive exercise in illustrating the human condition while also being an example that there ARE good people in the world who wish to help others attain their goals as well as their own and see the mutually shared benefits it brings.
Told through the eyes of youth with a highly intelligent, unapologetically blunt but likewise truthful and grounded sensibility that lends a very effective degree of relatability to the narrative, the journey of a young boy trying to find answers about his origins and the mother he’s never actually known paired with the steadfast desperation of a girl attempting to achieve her dreams while getting away from an abusive home carries itself with beautifully character-centric delivery, allowing us as the viewer to fully know and learn from the start the precise situations that have shaped two individuals lives, the subsequent merging of their paths, the steps they take to assist each other in their respective quests, and the stirring bond that it forms. The underlying emphasis ON people actually championing another’s purpose while also managing to gain what they themselves have been seeking (as mentioned above) is so moving and needed in this world right now.
Thematically endeavoring to showcase concepts of wanting a better life and future, desiring to know about where we come from and why things ended up the way they did, holding onto your dreams, the revelation of purpose even when it means having to take massive leaps of faith and not HAVING all the answers in order to do so, basic human connection through both shared and varied factors being experienced or pursued, the kindness of strangers, literally confronting life and death, the value of support when we feel lost, being illegal aliens, the cathartic release of finding what we were looking for even if it may not be all we envisioned it to be, and moving forward all have their place in this amazing story. What I also liked here is that even with the greater “feel-good” atmosphere the film elicits, it doesn’t come at the cost of also portraying that life can be extreme and/or difficult, which is simply REALITY, and this is important to show here.
The finale is nothing short of an emotional tempest on multiple levels, and it does wholly solidify the film’s messages quite emphatically, which is all I am going to state at this point. The imagery, much of which is the stunning beauty of the Laos countryside and mountains, really immerses you in its size and magnitude relative to the two more diminutive characters we’re following, and this, for me, added TO the literal and figurative size of the adventure they’re on. And going back to the film’s tone, it really is a pleasant and smartly executed utilization of drama and certain humor that allows the story to BE so compelling, engaging, fun, and ultimately inspiring. So, here we go again in this critic having to LAUD another child actor, as I am STILL continually baffled where they mange to FIND these kids! This is primarily directed, most obviously, towards Sonepho and his lead role as the film’s namesake Satu.
A young boy who has only known a village temple and the compassion of those within as his life, Satu soon finds himself in a place of wishing to know more about his mother, why she has been absent, and where she is now. Fueled more upon being told this information, his wanting to go to her only increases, and it is thanks to an unforeseen guest at the temple that allows him to strike off to do what he’s wanting while also getting to establish a bond of friendship and trust with her in his “mission” while being an aid in satisfying her goals in the process. It’s a charming but also wonderfully potent performance Sonepho provides here, as you cannot help but be drawn into this innocence, determination, and wisdom beyond his age as is portrayed in Satu throughout the entire story, endearing you to him and offering credibility to the character and his plight that is undeniably captivating, heartbreaking, and uplifting.
However, let’s not remotely take anything away from Sonepho’s teenaged co-star and equivalently enchanting but also firmly strident and energetic presence on screen that is Saysana through her role as Bo, a student and aspiring university attendee who only dreams of getting to Hanoi in order to further her photojournalistic skills and ambitions but requires a written and image-driven article to offer her ideal university as proof of her talents for acceptance to their institution. Initially uninspired by anything her own harder life is offering to this extent, the choice she makes to liberate herself from harm and a harried home life brings her into contact with Satu, whose story becomes THE one she wants to tell through accompanying him on the goal to locate his mother in a far village. Weathering the trials and triumphs they face along the way, Bo learns just as much from and about him as he does from her, creating the protective relationship that will define her.
I admired the spirit and vigor in which Saysana portrays Bo, also eclipsing her age, and demonstrating a maturity and fortitude that does BEFIT her younger age, yet also drives her believably forward in how she so steadfastly supports them on the journey in a more adult manner. The two actors together are simply lovely, their character’s delightful to watch interact in good and ill circumstances they face, believably coming into the tightly longed for companionship they both need. Primary supporting roles arrive first from Sihavong as Dara, Satu’s mother who from the beginning establishes the circumstances they cause her to make a sorrowful but necessary decision that does haunt her as we see her story unfold apart from the son who’s now searching for her. Athit Silavong is Khuba, the head monk at the temple who has raised Satu ever since he was found outside the temple doors and who greatly supports Satu in his quest to find his mother.
Somsinh Thammachareun appears as Bo’s father, a man on the edge and whose attitude towards his own needs much less that of his daughter are sadly fractured by it being a broken home. Additional supporting appearances are made by Tao Chanthavong, Philaphath Linsawad, Maikham Livong, Lee Joy, Sommay Vilaisouk, Anousone Phonboupha, Mr. Bau Vun, Litthiphone Khounphavong, Anoulack Manichan, Thanakone Ady, Tonxay Syvongdao, Phonexay Syvongdao, Pha Syvongdao, and Pakornkham Boualek. So, in total, “Satu – Year of the Rabbit” is a potent study of memories, legacy, desire for bettering ourselves, conquering obstacles, finding answers, showing humanity, seeing our value, and accepting the actualities we encounter whether easy or difficult. It’s about becoming who we are via the wonder and challenge that IS life, for if we don’t face it head on and persevere, then what do we truly have?
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
