MOVIE REVIEW: A Cambodian Spring

Documentary.Â We travel with Northern Irish Film Maker Christopher Kelly to Cambodia where the citizens of a city, who live by a lake, being forced out by the World Bank, a Corrupt Government, and thousands upon thousands of tonnes of sand being pumped into the Lake every day.Â Along the journey we learn that land grabbing is part of the Cambodian Governments method of operation and a Monk that is defying his elders though putting into action the true nature of his religion to try bring the attention to the world.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a documentary that moved me.Â Don’t let the score fool you here, this is a great documentary and for reasons that I will go into later in this review it suffered.Â This film may be set in Cambodia but there are a lot of similarities with any country around the world, you put enough cash on the table in front of the ruling party, and the common people are going to suffer.Â You can only hope that the people around you, if you are unlucky enough to have this happen to you, act like the people in this documentary.

I’m told that Christopher Kelly gave up his life of luxury in Derry, sarcasm, to move to Cambodia for six years to document this outrageous land grab.Â He follows the residents around the lake, who are about to lose their homes and their lives, at the hands of an evil corporation, and the Government who have money coming in from the World Bank.Â The protesters are led by a group of women who want their families to grow up where they grew up and the head of this group is the formidable Tep Vanny.Â We travel with her and the group of women, of all ages, as they face the corruption, machines, and violent police actions, then there are those women who give in to the Government wishes and turn their back on the cause.Â This leads to a massive amount of in fighting, and when the protesters are too busy fighting each other that is when the Government is able to do their evil.

The other story is about the Buddhist Monk Luon Sovath, who is going against the elders of his religion to do the basis of his religion, to help those around him, at the start he’s helping the Farmers who had their land taken, and then he goes to help the women.Â The Monk Police are out to get Luon and he’s defiant and helped by the people he’s standing with.Â It’s amazing when true men of faith work to show their vocation is real that the elders of that religion persecute them, and in Luon’s case, they hound him out of his home and country.

A Cambodian Spring is something that should be watched by every young adult and everyone who thinks their Government only wants the best for them.Â It should be placed on the essential viewing list for any school child who is old enough to view it.Â But there are major problems with the way the stories are told.

It’s a heavy piece of documentary film making, essential yes, but hard going, it took a lot to keep with it and if it wasn’t for the human story I may have given up.Â The biggest problem though is the total lack of hope in the story, there seems no real escape from the constant protesting, the constant hunting of the Monk, there is just no light at the end of the tunnel.Â All that being said I’m going to repeat myself again and tell you that this is a documentary that you should watch, in any way you can, and spread the word.

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