Satu-Year of the Rabbit

A young woman and a boy travel through Laos in search of his mother.

 

Bo (Saysana), a seventeen-year-old girl living in Vientiane, flees her abusive father and the city with the intention of pursuing her dream of becoming a photojournalist. Her endeavour leads her to a monastery in the Pha Tang village, where she meets Satu (Sonepho), a little boy who had been left at the monastery when he was a baby by his mother (Sihavong). Due to certain issues, Danay (Sylavong), one of the monks, believes that it is time for Satu to leave and requests that Bo accompany the boy to Muang Ngoy, where, assumably, is where his mother lives. Bo agrees and she and Satu (and his pet rabbit) begin their journey, while she documents her experiences by taking pictures and writing in a notebook, believing that it will make a good story to kick-start her career in photojournalism.

 

The main subject in this emotional drama is the rapport that develops between the two travellers. Satu and Bo rapidly become friends and while they travel to their destination, they play, dance and laugh together and Bo becomes a sort of mother figure to the child. Their journey is quite adventurous, with them moving mostly on foot and using automobiles, including a motorcycle. However, confrontations arise between them due to Bo's dishonesty.

 

Satu and Bo make two unlikely travel companions as they are rather different. One is a boy who grew up in a monastery, having never known a single member of his family, while the other is a teenager, a wannabe photojournalist who is on the run. What they do have in common, what appears to bring them together are their personal struggles which they seem to learn how to deal with thanks to each other's support.

 

Satu and Bo's efforts to reach Muang Ngoy alternate with Satu's mother and her dramatic encounter. Now living by herself, she finds an unconscious man on the shore and treats him and they build a rapport, like her son and Bo do.

 

Massive commendations go to Trigg's directing. His outstanding works captures the natural beauty of Laos, with many wonderful mountains and landscapes to be seen. The beautiful and dramatic music by Joshua Szweda is another feature that stands out.

 

This feature is a road trip. It is a moving story about two strangers who end up creating something very special between them. It is a journey that explores friendship, support and self-discovery and the desire to achieve goals and the need to feel whole. The film is quite dramatic, revealing the struggles of life but mainly focuses on its positive aspects.