The Missing Picture

'The Missing Picture' is one of the most unique documentaries I've ever seen. It is told from the point of view of one man, our narrator, as he recalls his experiences of the communist oppression of the Cambodian proletariat in the 1970s.

Vividly depicted by dynamic camera moves across clay figurines and remarkable archive reels that were interestingly camouflaged within the scenes, the film does well to keep the audience stimulated. The support of some abundantly sourced sound effects and music helped those clay lifeless people become the real people of our story, as they fell victim to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. We feel among them, we feel as though the narrator is speaking to us, as he does not preach, nor teach, just tells his story as remembers it.

The only images I have ever seen of Cambodia are post 1992 and therefore, the archive reels of a once bustling city and of dancers, were reels I had not expected to come from Cambodia. The nature of the film, told through the modelling of these personified clay figures, managed to turn off my reviewing senses and allow me simply to watch, to take in, to interpret and to learn.

The film was not one of fact, it did not provide an in-depth explanation of the period or regime, but it did through one man's story, encourage me to research it for myself. I found that:

• The Khmer Rouge forced over 2 million people from their city homes, to travel to the countryside and work in the same horrendous conditions as our narrator. 
• Since the end to the regime, over 20,000 mass graves have been found, and estimates range between 2-3million dead as a result.
• It's thought that an additional 650,000 Cambodians died of starvation within the next year.
• Although the Khmer Rouge were thrown out in 1979, they existed through until 1996 when they finally dissolved. 
• What perhaps is salt in the wound, is that Pol Pot, the man in charge of running such an oppressive regime, died in 1998, having never been tried for what he'd done.

I want to know more. How is it, that I never knew the extent of Cambodian suffering during this time and how is it, that it still continues in some way today, around the world? I will certainly be devoting time towards finding out more. I hope to visit Cambodia too, where I hope to add more than just an education on it's recent history and review an understanding of what took place there.

I read once that a successful documentary is when an audience does not return with comments of how something was shown, or how it could have been shown better, but when they talk about the issue of the film. If that definition is correct, then 'The Missing Picture' remaining, is for me to agree. A brilliantly unique depiction of human suffering and resilience. One I feel I would need to watch again and again, to truly appreciate the every detail of our artist's recreation.