Enemies of the People

Enemies of the People | reviews, news & interviews

Enemies of the People

A compassionate but never overwrought exposé of the Khmer Rouge

by Emma SimmondsThursday, 09 December 2010

Reporter Thet Sambath, whose own brother was killed by the Khmer Rouge, confronts Brother Number Two, the ideologue of the Khmer Rouge Nuon Chea

Two members of Thet Sambath’s immediate family were murdered during the Khmer Rouge’s time in power in Cambodia. His father was killed when he objected to the organisation's seizure of his property, while his mother was then forced into marriage with a Khmer Rouge militia. She died soon after following complications in childbirth. His older brother, who had witnessed the brutal murder of his father, was also later executed. Enemies of the People, a documentary made with Rob Lemkin, is Sambath's illuminating, admirably restrained insight into a brutal regime.

As well as evoking sympathy for those who were the instruments of the Khmer Rouge’s brutality, the film also features troubling descriptions of their barbarism

Explore topics

Share this article

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Film

Witches review - beyond the broomstick, the cat, and the pointy hat A documentary probes the links between stigmatised women and postpartum depression

Wicked review - overly busy if beautifully sung cliffhanger Musical theatre behemoth becomes an outsized film - and this is just part one

Snow Leopard review - clunky visual effects mar a director's swansong Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden bows out with a confusing tale of a beautiful predator

Mediha review - a brutalised Yazidi teen comes of age with a camera A documentary frames the video diary of a Yazidi girl who suffered horrific abuse

Blu-ray: Pharaoh Dazzling historical epic from the Polish New Wave

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat review - jazz-themed documentary on the 1960s Congo Crisis Musicians played different roles in the struggles of the newly independent African country

Gladiator II review - can lightning strike twice? Sir Ridley Scott makes a big, bold return to the Roman Empire

ARK: United States V by Laurie Anderson, Aviva Studios, Manchester review - a vessel for the thoughts and imaginings of a lifetime Despite anticipating disaster, this mesmerising voyage is full of hope

Joy review - the birth pangs of in vitro fertilisation Subtle drama about the quest to give women a childbearing choice

Blu-ray: The Oblong Box Vincent Price and Christopher Lee in 'Witchfinder General''s phantom follow-up

Bird review - travails of an unseen English tween Andrea Arnold gives a hyperreal spin to her latest story of a neglected girl

The Problem With People review - local zero Hardly a Forsyth saga, this unfunny Oirish comedy is a homage to catatonia

Follow @theartsdesk