S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

From 1975 to 1979, approximately two million Cambodians were killed in the large-scale purges under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The most horrendous events took place in Phnom Penh, in penal colony S21. A quarter of a century later, Rithy Panh returns to the camp with a group of prison guards and two of the seven survivors. There, he allows them to confront each other and their past. Their personal accounts are a cautious attempt to make Cambodia come to terms with its troubled collective memory. In a leisurely documentary style, Pahn lets his subjects tell their stories, which are illustrated by photos and reports. Still completely horror-stricken, the victims seek explanations and apologies, while the guards mainly wash their hands of the matter. By destroying "the enemies of the revolution," they were only carrying out orders. In order to do so, they had to turn off their conscience, for their leaders were always right. In empty rooms, the ex-guards demonstrate how they treated their prisoners, and not without enthusiasm. Apart from a run-down 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 -- here, the dividing line between civilization and barbarism appears to be shockingly thin.