Educational Media Reviews Online

During the years 1970-1975, the Vietnam War expanded into Cambodia, the government of Prince Sihanouk was overthrown by Lon Nol, and Lon Nol was in turn overthrown by the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge then undertook the transformation of Cambodian society by moving the urban population to the countryside, closing schools, banning religion abolishing currency, and eliminating any who were thought of as enemies of the people. The results included terror, famine, starvation, and the deaths of over 1.7 million Cambodians by the hand, or due to the policies of the Khmer Rouge. The tools employed by the Khmer Rouge in this effort included indoctrination, intimidation, forced labor, torture, and executions. The interrogation center known as S21 was at the heart of these activities. 17,000 Cambodians were sent to S21 as a result of their background, educational level, political or family association, or merely an unsubstantiated accusation from another detainee. Only a few lived to tell of their experiences. The guards were told that anyone who was interned at S21 was an enemy of the people. It was a duty of the guards to extract a confession from the prisoners through political pressure, punishment, and torture. It was understood by the guards that the prisoners would be killed in due course.

In S21 the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, filmmaker Rithy Panh utilizes archival footage and Khmer Rouge songs to set the stage for what happened at the interrogation center. He then introduces several men who served, or were imprisoned, at S21. Two men who survived imprisonment in S21 describe how they came to be detained, what life was like there, and how they were forced to falsely implicate others in plots against the revolution. The other characters in Panh’s film are guards, interrogators, a doctor, and a photographer who were stationed at S21. They too see themselves as survivors of the Khmer Rouge era. They remorselessly use the following of orders to explain their brutal acts, as any lack of obedience on their part meant retribution and certain death. In some very eerie scenes Panh has them reenact their regular duties. The way they revert to their former state of domineering guards with life and death control of prisoners is truly disturbing. Panh also has the surviving prisoners interview the interrogation center staff. The jailers remain nonchalant while recounting their actions which included rape, torture and even the draining of blood from prisoners. Their former prisoners seem frustrated with what they see to be a lack of willingness to admit personal responsibility on the part of S21 staff for the brutality that took place in the interrogation center. Ultimately they would like to see the leaders of the Khmer Rouge put on trial and be punished for their actions.

Panh has made a notable documentary film. It investigates a disturbing chapter in history by bringing together those who perpetrated remarkable brutality and those who survived it. In doing so, Panh illuminates what Cambodia is going through in its attempts to come to terms with its past and to build a just future. Although this film can be painful to watch, it should be of value to those interested in political science, genocide, modern Southeast Asian history, and human rights. It would serve as an excellent discussion tool as it raises important questions for viewers to investigate. This film is highly recommended for viewers from high school to adult and to the libraries that serve them.