Les gens d'Angkor

Rithy Panh evokes the inalterable symbol which Angkor represents: a people of stone carved in a bas-relief gradually revealed by the workers. Their delicacy, their wise and simple gaze contrasts sharply with the masses of tourists trampling around the base of the monuments, getting their picture taken and accomplishing the 'compulsory' visit of the greatest historical site in Cambodia. Behind this scene, the locals think of the tortured and blood stained bodies and the disappeared ones, honouring distant memories, which come alive when worshipping the gods, and reminiscing about recent events which, like tales and legends, must constantly be told anew.