Educational Media Reviews Online

In a four-year period from April 1975 to January 1979, the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot killed one sixth of the Cambodian people, more than 1.7 million, in a reign of terror that continued well after the Khmer Rouge faded into the Cambodian jungle, with peace declared by the succeeding government only after Pol Pot’s death in 1998. This film is an update on the social climate in Cambodia as the government under Hun Sen pursues reconciliation based on the work of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Meanwhile amnesty for Khmer Rouge leaders is opposed by many survivors of the “Killing Fields” and such organizations as the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam). The Cambodian people are torn between a cultural preference to not speak ill of the past and the extreme discomfort of survivors of the Pol Pot regime who lack the peace of mind of knowing what happened to their relatives that disappeared during Pol Pot’s reign. Following some history on the aftermath of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, Gottschau uses interviews with survivors, ex-Khmer Rouge, and officials of DC-Cam and NGO aid agencies to provide the story. Scenes in a reconciliation camp are very effective in portraying the continuing effects of Khmer Rouge oppression: very few are able to express their feelings on reconciliation, their personal losses or even their anger at having had a close family member murdered or still missing from the genocide. Anger is expressed by those bold enough to speak, a silent hopelessness from those who don’t.

Technically, the film is excellent. Audio, video and editing are professional, although captions would have aided viewers’ understanding of several who respond to interviewer questions in heavily accented English. The film offers sufficient video context of the Cambodian genocides to allow the imagination to consider the physical and psychological horrors experienced by the Cambodians without dwelling excessively on the macabre details.

This video will enhance library collections in Asian studies, general social studies, and psychology courses, particularly the social and psychological aspects of reconciliation. The film will be a welcome addition to educational programming concerning genocide, war crimes, and limitless capability of the human race to for enmity, violence and disrespect of fellow humans in service of political or racial agendas. Cambodia: Land of Silence may be particularly effective if used in conjunction with related videos on South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission or the Cambodian “Killing Fields.” Two such films reviewed in EMRO are noted below:

Where Truth Lies (ISBN 1-56029-802-2) explores the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the case of the abduction, torture and murder of Siphiwo Mtimkulu and his friend Topsy Madaka by the South African Security Police. Part of a TVE (Television Trust for the Environment) series Triumph Over Terror (1999).

Cambodia: Children of Genocide (2002) is a short film which showing the extent of the Cambodian genocide and the progress of the UN mandated reconciliation initiative up to 2002.