Satu: Year Of The Rabbit Review
Coming-of-age stories have proven themselves to be flexible and timeless over the years; you can take any setting, genre, or situation and still have it work with these types of stories due to their universal relatability. This is something Welsh director Joshua Trigg clearly understands with his directorial debut, Satu: Year of the Rabbit.
The film follows a young orphan child labourer named Satu who, along with his new photojournalist friend Bo, travels north through the landscapes of Laos in search of his long-lost mother.
One thing that should be made clear about this film from the start is that it very much keeps things as simple and down to earth as it can, which is primarily due to its £80,000 budget. By doing so, Trigg can find what makes this journey and these characters so captivating and bring that to the forefront. Like any great coming-of-age drama, the film cherishes the quiet moments as much as it does the journey itself and uses the environment to show how these characters have changed.
However, the true beauty of this film really comes from the look and sound of it all. Trigg, along with cinematographer James Chegwyn, chose to shoot Satu: Year of the Rabbit on 16mm film, and the result is a palpable sense of vintage charm that greatly adds to the scope of the story and the more intimate moments of character growth. All of this is accompanied by a fantastic score courtesy of Joshua Szweda, who seamlessly bounces from delightfully playful to gently moving at just the right points.
What really stands out in the film, other than its presentation, are the two lead performances from non-professional actors, Itthiphone Sonepho and Vanthiva Saysana. Their turns here are incredibly genuine and earnest, almost coming across as if they’ve been doing this for years. The chemistry between Sonepho and Saysana is captivating to see unfold over the course of the film’s runtime, as it blossoms into a mutual friendship that feels earned both thematically and personally.
Satu: Year of the Rabbit is a beautifully understated drama that revels in its Laos setting and 16mm cinematography. Although it doesn’t break new ground with its themes or story, it doesn’t necessarily have to; it’s a film that is all the more effective because of how stripped back it keeps everything and knowing its own limitations. This truly is a wonderfully made gem that shouldn’t fall under the radar.
★★★★
Out on Digital HD from 26th January / Itthiphone Sonepho, Vanthiva Saysana, Pakornkham Boualek, Sonedala Sihavong, Athit Silavong, Anoulack Manichan / Dir: Joshua Trigg / Bulldog Film Distribution / 12A
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