S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

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Audience Member So this movie explained to me how the systematic killings or 'destruction' under the Khmer Rouge was our generations worst Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member This found footage film is a far cry from "The Act of Killing". Interesting first-hand accounts from both sides of the tragedy, though. Probably much more interesting to people who have never been there. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Horrific but powerful movie. What really struck me was the idea of each prisoner as a document. You needed to get them to record their confession of their activities against the Khmer Rouge. So you had to torture them, but you could not kill them, because that would ruin the "document". So you would heal their torture wounds until you had the complete document and then you could kill them. And just like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge kept meticulous records of the atrocities they committed. Ironically it was a way to validate the government. It was a way to prove that they were a democracy and that no citizen was imprisoned with out just cause. Even if those causes were created and written by guards. Finally, I suppose that my obsession with documentation and written records as evidence is a way to distance myself emotionally from the horrific acts that these documents record. Because these activities were mind numbingly horrible. My mind keeps skittering away from any attempts to deal with it. For that reason I understand why the guards would rather not deal with what they did in the past. It is easier to be victims too. On the other hand, these men do try and take some responsibility for their past actions. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member The atrocities that happened within the infamous S-21 Khmer Rouge prison in Phnom Penh is a story that must be told, unfortunately this documentary is painfully slow and un-engaging and doesn't tell the story as well as it should. Kudos to the director for trying something new, the story is told entirely by prison guards and survivors, at many points they discuss the atrocities together. Sadly though there are too many boring re-enactments and not enough facts given. A lot of the run-time is simply the guards repeating the actions that they did all those years ago but why the director felt the need to get them to do the same thing so many times I'll never understand. It's a documentary that tries to take a fresh approach but it largely fails by not providing us with enough of the shocking facts that the world needs to know. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member The attrocities that happened within the infamous S-21 Khmer Rouge prison in Phnom Penh is a story that must be told, unfortunately this documentary is painfully slow and unengaging and doesn't tell the story as well as it should. Kudos to the director for trying something new, the story is told entirely by prison guards and survivors, at many points they discuss the attrocitoes together. Sadly though there is too many boring re-enactments and not enough facts given. A lot of the run-time is simply the guards repeating the actions that they did all those years ago but why the director felt the need to get them to do the same thing so many times I'll never understand. It's a documentary that tries to take a fresh approach but it largely fails by not prividing us with enough of the shocking facts that the world needs to know. Disappointing. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Sujet intéressant , documentaire plombant Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

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