Duch, le maître des forges de l'enfer

Rithy Panh explored the legacy of cambodia’s genocide with S-21, LA MACHINE DE MORT KHMÈRE ROUGE. This captivating new documentary continues his investigation with a portrait of Kaing Guek Eav, the man responsible for running the notorious S-21 prison in the late 70s. Intercutting interviews with archival footage of labour camps and reenactments by former guards at the prison – whose testimonies sometimes contradict those of Duch – the film offers a complex and challenging portrait of a man known to the world as a monster. Duch remains reflective and softspoken, yet his argument that he was only performing a job “in the party’s interest, in my own interest of survival”, with its echoes of Nazi war criminals, is chilling. As a director, Panh refrains from commentary, allowing the audience to come up with their own opinions. (Giovanna Fulvi)