S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

From 1975 to 1979, some two million Cambodians were killed in the massive purges under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. In penal colony S21 in Phnom Penh, some of the most horrendous events took place. A quarter century later, acclaimed director Rithy Panh returns to the camp with two survivors and their former captors – guards, interrogators, a doctor and a photographer. There, he confronts them with each other and their past. Their personal accounts are a cautious attempt to help Cambodia come to grips with a troubled collective memory. Supported by photos and reports, the camera calmly documents the stories of those who lived through it all. Still completely shell-shocked, the victims seek explanations and apologies, while the inflictors mainly wash their hands of the matter. After all, they were only following orders, but this required them to suspend their own conscience, for their leaders were always right. Not without enthusiasm, the ex-guards demonstrate in the empty rooms how they used to treat their prisoners. Apart from an enumeration of the official sentences and causes of death, the film gives a detailed account of the actual torture methods and massacres. provides a pessimistic view of human nature, and the dividing line between civilization and barbarism appears shockingly thin.