Enemies of the People

Year: 2009
Country: UNITED KINGDOM, CAMBODIA
Run Time: 93 minutes

ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE is Thet Sambath's way of making sense of the past. His quest is to explain the massacre of nearly two million people in the Killing Fields in Cambodia. It is as much a personal adventure as it is a political one because Sambath's parents and siblings were among those slain. In the ten-year process of finding closure, Sambath seeks out those involved in the killings – from ordinary soldiers to the notorious Brother Number Two. In his interviews with these members of the Khmer Rouge Regime, Sambath explores with them this unparalleled tragedy in grave detail, even asking one interviewee to demonstrate how to slit someone's throat. In the interest of objectivity, Sambath does not share his mission with those he interviews and never tells them that his family was among those killed, which adds tension and contributes to the emotional tenor of the story. Undeniably, you will be moved by the courage and persistence of Sambath in this process. What begins as one man's desire to explain his family's deaths, ends up being a harrowing account of Cambodian history. It creates a poignant experience resulting in catharsis for audience and filmmaker alike. (In English and Khmer with subtitles) – B.K.

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