Originally published on Panic Dots.
Directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath
The word “evil” is bandied around too readily these days. When someone resorts to using it, as abhorrent as the actions or behaviours they’re describing are, I think it’s all too neat a summary. When you dismiss something as “evil”, you stop all analysis. You don’t need to think about it anymore, it is what it is and there’s no need to try and understand it. I don’t think this is a healthy habit for a society to get into. If you don’t analyse the circumstances that lead to the so-called act or acts of evil, how do you expect to avoid them re-occurring?
All of this ran through my head as I watched Enemies of the People, a documentary about Thet Sambath, investigative journalist for the Phnom Penh Post, and a man who has dedicated ten years of his life to tracking down some of the people responsible for the mass executions during the Cambodian Khmer Rouge regime. When he finally located them, he began the painstaking process of gaining their trust and respect. Then he gave them the opportunity to confess.
It’s clear that this is a very personal journey for Thet, as he tragically lost members of his family during the atrocities. If this was a Hollywood movie, I’d be safe in the knowledge that justice would be served. Thet would no doubt find a black market arms dealer at some point during his search, stock up on artillery and take out these terrible men and women, one by one in a flurry of bullets before returning home to his wife and kids, ready to live the rest of his life in the peace only revenge can bring. And no one could fault him for that. However, the motivation behind Thet’s quest is far nobler than petty revenge, and he has reaffirmed my faith in humanity.
The empathy Thet shows towards everybody he interviews, from the foot soldiers who carried out the executions in the notorious killing fields, to Nuon Chea (aka Brother Number Two – Pol Pot’s second in command), allows us to see just how far one man’s capacity for forgiveness can stretch. By allowing these people to confess, he’s not only dealing with his own grief, he’s offering them a chance at salvation.
Subject matter aside, the documentary is beautifully shot and Daniel Pemberton’s score adds to the haunted atmosphere of the Cambodian countryside. Despite their harsh beauty, you are never left in any doubt that the paddy fields drenched in sunshine are actually the mass graves of a lost generation.
Final Thoughts
This is not an easy watch. It takes a certain amount of commitment to be able to sit through this documentary, and it’s extremely difficult to feel the same compassion that Thet shows his interview subjects. Like all documentaries it helps a great deal if you’re already interested or familiar with the subject matter. However, for anyone unaware of the tragedies that occurred in Cambodia, Enemies of the People is a great, if somewhat harrowing, starting point.