S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine
Director: Rithy Panh
Year Released: 2003
Rating: 2.0
Director Panh - a survivor of the Khmer Rouge massacre (he escaped to France when very young) - revisits one of Pol Pot & Company's most notorious establishments, the former high school (!) turned execution center S21 in Phnom Penh, where he interviews guards and former detainees about the horrific conditions inside. Panh forgoes 'traditional' documentary for virtual re-enactment which somewhat complicates things: by turning it into a kind of theatre, Panh seems to inadvertently 'support' the defense by the guards that they were simply 'following orders' in the same exact way they're 'following orders' for the all-seeing director (Panh himself). The canned responses by the murderous guards also seem 'pre-written' by Panh who uses his camera to scan their faces in desperate need of a visual sign of remorse. Artist Vann Nath - one of a handful of those who managed to get out of S21 alive - is a treasure: when he meets with his former captors, he's not violent: he just wants an explanation. And as the Nazis proved, explanations for this kind of thing aren't easy things to come by....
