In Laos, a nation of rugged mountains and verdant plains, lottery games are more than the announcement of winning numbers. They are a window into the culture and shared community experiences that shape the country, a reminder of how even mundane events can take on profound significance. And as winners celebrate their good fortune and those who didn’t win look forward to the next draw, a sense of camaraderie pervades. This unique tradition embodies the human spirit’s enduring optimism.
The lottery is a common form of gambling worldwide, with national and local governments regulating it and instituting regulations to prevent abuses. However, not all lotteries are equal. Some have been the source of controversy, such as the lottery in Quebec City in Canada. In the late 1960s, a lottery company paid municipal officials to illegally operate the lottery system and collect taxes. After the scandal, sales plummeted.
There are also questions about the integrity of the lottery system, including the underlying math that determines the winning numbers. It’s been suggested that the smallest digit is not a real number, but rather the product of an algorithm that creates random numbers. In addition, some people have accused the lottery of being rigged.
Regardless of whether the lottery is fair or not, it remains a popular way to pass time. It is not as popular as the United States or Australian government-run lotteries, but it still holds a place in Laos’ gambling psyche.
In the 1990s, a woman who grew up in an orphanage won a jackpot that totaled more than $55 million. The prize was a life-changing amount for Xia Rattanakone, who planned to use some of the money to help her birth family in Laos. However, she had trouble getting the funds from her adopted family because they feared she would be unable to manage the money well.
Dearest Sister is the second film from director Mattie Do, an American-born Laotian who grew up in California but has maintained a strong connection with her ancestors’ homeland. She is a dancer by training and started making films four years ago without any formal movie education. She spins the supernatural premise of ghosts that tell the winner of the lottery numbers into a class critique and psychological horror, with an emphasis on atmospheric suspense. The result is a film that is both disturbing and uplifting.
