Skip to main content

ANGKOR AWAKENS: A PORTRAIT OF CAMBODIA review

Image
By
2017
Directed By: Robert H Liberman



ANGKOR AWAKENS: A PORTRAIT OF CAMBODIA offers an intimate look at a country who has reached a political and cultural tipping point. We are shown the current state of Cambodia through the veil of the country’s brutal history. Living in the wake of the Khmer Rouge genocide (1975-1979) we see a nation, whose people are fighting to reconcile their past while demanding change for their future. 

The present-day repression in Cambodia lives on as a reminder of the country's not too distant past, but a new generation of  Cambodians are demanding change for their country and its people. The film is comprised of deeply personal interviews, including one with Prime Minister Hun Sen. 

Operation Menu, the codename for a secret bombing campaign conducted by the US in Cambodia between 1969 and 1970 set the stage for the rise of the Khmer Rouge. An organization who is best remembered for orchestrating the Cambodian genocide. Combing elements of Marxism with an extreme version of Khmer, nationalism, and xenophobia the Rouge's ideology was a powder keg waiting to be ignited. 

Director Robert H. Lieberman’s first-hand experience with the Holocaust has led him to explore the effects of the genocide on today’s young Cambodians. He said he was"initially drawn to Cambodia because I was curious to see if there were any lingering effects of the Khmer Rouge genocide in today’s young people. I was determined not to make a doom and gloom movie. Rather, I wanted to provide a sweeping portrait of the country, its people, and history, its politics and psychology. Of course, there was no way to avoid Cambodia’s darkest period."

The most illuminating interview in the film is with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s Prime Minister who apparently rarely gives interviews. That conversation offers a chilling look at the source of the current oppression facing the Cambodian people. Choosing to shoot the film himself, with available light, Liberman creates an environment comfortable enough for his subjects to open up in a deeply personal manner. His intention "is that this is a story of hope and recovery told through the Cambodian people— the young and old, artists and teachers, politicians and just plain ordinary people."

We as an audience are forced to come to grips with Nixon and Kissinger’s secret bombing and incursion into this neutral country that helped set the stage for the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Sadly ANGOR AWAKENS is an important and enlightening reflection of our current political climate. 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Richard Armitage interview on SLEEPWALKER

By
SLEEPWALKER is the latest film from director Elliott Lester. Troubled by bouts of sleepwalking and disturbing nightmares, graduate student Sarah Foster goes to her university's sleep research center for help. When she wakes up after her first night of being monitored, the world she lives in seems to have changed in subtle, Twilight-Zone-esque ways. In fact, every time she goes to sleep now, she wakes up in a slightly different version of her world. With the help of sleep researcher Dr. Scott White, she tries to work her way back to the reality she started in. But when they finally succeed, it’s revealed that Sarah’s world is not what she thought at all.

Today my guest is one of the stars SLEEPWALKER, Richard Armitage. Tonight we talk about his work on that film as well as his work as Thorin Oakenshiled in The Hobbit Films, as John Proctor in The Crucible, and his upcoming films Ocens 8 and the Julie Delpy directed film My Zoe.

Sleepwalker is Now Available on Digital HD and On Dem…
Read More >>

Internet Trolls and Critics in the Age of Rotten Tomatoes - A Look at the Critical Response to GOTTI

By
Hate, intolerance, and cruelty are the most valued currencies in the digital age. Online publications deal in the same eye-catching tabloid headlines that were once exclusive to rags like WEEKLY WORLD NEWS and the NATIONAL ENQUIRER. The monetization of clicks is ruining many forms of journalism and film criticism is just one of them. When organizations can see what headlines are generating revenue its only natural that sensationalism would start to rise. There is no consorted hivemind like conspiracy to destroy certain films but rather internet activity that has boosted a certain type of writer. From the outside, online film critics share quite a bit with their Twitter troll counterparts.

The critical response to John Travolta's passion project Gotti has been less than favorable, in fact, it has been downright abysmal. A project over ten years in the making, Travolta has poured his heart and soul into this venture. And many writers seem to take pleasure in the film's failure.

I…
Read More >>

NO ALTERNATIVE review

By
Depression is often marked by sadness, despair, and hopelessness. The sense that things will not get better is something most of us pass through at different points in our lives. But depression is something more than that. It’s not just a temporary feeling, it’s a debilitating emotional state that you can’t simply pull yourself out of. The angry outbursts, irritability, and frustration that come along with depression can isolate individuals suffering from this condition and push them deeper into their own thoughts. Everyone needs to be heard and sometimes those who can’t express themselves in traditional forms find their voice in art.
Edvard Munch wrestled with agoraphobia and frequently had hallucinations, one of which inspired THE SCREAM, a painting so iconic that even the most casual art enthusiast is familiar with the piece.  Sylvia Plath took a more direct approach with THE BELL JAR and laid out the details of her depression with brutal honesty. Briana Dickerson a white suburba…
Read More >>