It seems to be a somewhat odd trend (if that's indeed what this is) of having English speaking directors directing films in another language. There's Welsh director Gareth Evans and his The Raid series (the sequel is on its way, with a third instalment already announced) filmed in Indonesia, in Indonesian. And then there's England's Sean Ellis directing Metro Manila, which was shot in the Philippines with a Filipino speaking cast. And now Australian Kim Mordaunt makes his feature debut with this film set in the Southeast Asian country of Laos.

There's a local traditional belief in Laos that if you give birth to twins, the first born must be killed, as they will be cursed and bring nothing but bad luck to your family. Ahlo (Sitthiphon Disamoe) is luckier than most twins however, as his slightly younger twin dies at birth. Despite only arriving minutes into this world, his grandmother is already spouting off to his parents that he is cursed and will cause nothing but trouble.

Years later, when it's announced by a big corporation that a second dam is to be built not near their village but on it, ten year old Ahlo, his family, and the rest of the village have to move out. Luckily for them, the corporation are prepared to relocate them to a lovely new village. When they arrive however, it's far from that. In fact, it's not even built, leaving them all to live in squalid conditions.

To make matters worse, a tragedy occurred during the move, which Ahlo's grandmother was quick to blame him for, so Ahlo also finds himself in the dog house. With the family in dire straits, and Ahlo made to feel somewhat responsible, he wants to rectify the situation. When he learns of a local rocket competition, with an impressive cash prize for the winner, Ahlo sees an opportunity to make amends.

Malcolm and Rosie were surprised at how easy it was to get a number one hit single in Laos, especially as a Sonny and Cher tribute band.

Luckily for the film - and for its two stars and director – it has done pretty good business at the US box office, which means all three get anoth

It can be difficult enough directing in your own language, so directing in a foreign tongue – particularly on your first feature – must really increase the stress levels. Not that you would know it from Mordaunt though, who has produced a truly impressive effort on his debut.

The key to his success, in part, is down to the strong turns he gets from the younger members of his cast in Disamoe and Loungnam Kaosainam, who plays his female sidekick Kia. The pair give the kind of down to earth, natural performances that belies their lack of acting experience.

The script, which he also wrote, is one with a few surprises up its sleeve too. Not only is the story itself a little on the quirky side( after all, there aren't that many films out there that revolve around rural rocket-making competitions), but it also includes an oddball character known as Uncle (Suthep Po-ngam), who likes to model his looks and moves on none other than music legend James brown. It's these nice little touches that helps elevate this film above your average world cinema title.

With its warm tones and big heart, The Rocket is a delightfully unexpected spectacle that soars in all the right places.