Enemies of the People

 

Story:

A Cambodian whose family was among the 2 million victims slain by the Khmer Rouge, Thet Sambath patiently spends his time, energy and money gaining the trust of the regime's cold-blooded murderers in hopes of capturing their confessions on tape. Several years in the making, this powerful documentary showcases horrific stories told by the culprits themselves, including the notorious Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's second-in-command dubbed "Brother Number 2." (NetFlix)

Review:

Beyond the immediate suffering, the one thing repressive regimes affect most is the destruction of a society’s psyche. Like an abused child, the pain remains long after the cruelty ends. How does one heal? How does a nation heal? It’s a question we may never be fully capable of answering, but reporter Thet Sambath attempts to accomplish this anyway.

His method of healing is forgiveness through confession. In his documentary, Enemies of the People, he rather simply tracks down former members of the Khmer Rouge and asks them to admit their crimes on camera. It almost seems like the makings of a more serious Michael Moore documentary: confront the villains directly. But he isn’t antagonistic. He is more interested in the how and why then the blame and the result is rather surprising, if not encouraging. Here is a nation ravaged by a ruthless regime and one man is trying to reunite it by bringing the villains back into the fold.

The story itself is fascinating as audiences will hear from numerous interviews while witnessing one man’s desire to talk (just talk) to those who participated in the murdering millions, including his parents.  These interviews are quite vivid as the people hold nothing back.  It's as if these murderers are tired of hiding from their past and hope their confessions spark healing and understanding.

However, the direction of this documentary doesn’t quite live up to the story. It feels pieced together rather than driven by some sort of narrative. Interviews bounce around and the film takes a good 15-20 minutes to settle into some semblance of a rhythm. There are moments where audiences will be reminded of the Fog of War and others where the documentary is less polished. This uneven feel prevents audiences from focusing on the story.

Enemies of the People is a great story and an interesting exploration, but its hard not to feel that under better direction, it could have been a phenomenal bit of history.

Reviewed by Matthew Abshire for Documentary Film Online on April 23, 2010

In Conclusion: