Deacon of Death (2004)

Directed by: Jan van den Berg | 105 minutes | documentary | Starring: Sok Chea, Chan Theary, Mr Karoby

The imminent (inter)national tribunal to try the criminals of the Khmer Rouge regime forms the background against which Jan van den Berg tells the individual story of Sok Chea. Now, thirty years after the apparent departure of the Khmer Rouge, she recognizes her family’s killer and sends a friend to investigate how Mr. Karoby perishes. The man, who has quite a few atrocities to his name, is today a farmer converted to Buddhism. How difficult it is to prosecute or even bring to justice someone who has made amends is apparent from the conversation that eventually takes place between Sok Chea and Mr. Karoby under the watchful eye of a monk.

In ‘Deacon of Death’, Jan van den Berg, an anthropologist graduate, portrays the difficulties surrounding the establishment of the tribunal by taking Sok Chea’s personal story as a guideline. It is nice to see that van den Berg does not take a stand, but objectively lets his main characters have their say and also leaves the “trial” to them. He makes no judgments and knows exactly why this is so impossible for an outsider. Sok Chea, a woman who, like most people in their thirties and forties, has experienced the atrocities committed by the members of the Khmer Rouge up close, makes it clear to the viewer that life in Cambodia is not black and white. Guilt and innocence, good and evil, penance and forgiveness are extremes that are not opposed to each other in a country like Cambodia, but are closely intertwined. The man who killed her family also appears to have many good sides, to have a family of his own that loves him and to have converted to Buddhism. Her own moral dilemmas symbolize the issues facing Cambodia as a whole today.

‘Deacon of Death’ is a beautiful documentary that manages to create an astonishing effect with subtle actions, namely to drag you into the complex world of a Cambodian. Don’t expect pretty pictures of the country, but as a glimpse into society, this is an ultimate portrait!