Review of S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2003) by Laura N — 15 Jun 2013

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.