Rice People (1994)

Acclaimed Cambodian director Rithy Panh (S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine) reveals the never-ending struggle of Cambodia’s rice-paddy farmers In this powerful story of loss and survival. RICE PEOPLE is a remarkable early feature film from Panh, who in 1979 narrowly escaped a Khmer Rouge labor camp and the genocide that claimed most of his family. Poeuv and Om fight everything from cobras to floods to disease to grow a successful rice crop. When Poeuv dies from an infection caused by stepping on a thorn while plowing, Om must forge on to take care of her seven daughters. Adding to her troubles is the Old World attitude that her daughters are financial burdens—not the assets that sons would be. Panh’s dynamic camerawork throws us into the midst of the oozing mud of the paddies, which are so tightly linked to the life and death struggle of the rice people.

It no longer takes one to know one.

To me at least, this is the most touching of Rithy Panh's dramatic works. As always the photography is wonderful, and the acting is never perceived as acting, but incredibly real. A very wide range of characters in this one, which will have a special appeal to women of all nationalities.

Those interested in village life will learn of the many natural enemies of the rice farmer, something I've never seen portrayed in any other film. This story is so absorbing that from the opening scene we forget it's a film and get drawn into the story so deeply that at times it's more sympathetic pain than pleasure we experience, the same emotion most of us are left with after every single visit to Cambodia, a country which has broken countless hearts many times over. One feverish dream flashback sequence is absolutely stunning in its impact. The hopelessness expressed by the male lead matches that felt by the average Cambodian today.

A perfect study aid for intermediate level students of Khmer. The dialogue is crystal clear. The folksy style and intimate forms of address between rural husband and wife are something you'll never get from any text book, but if you are from rural America you will recognize the similarities. May 12, 2007

Rithy Panh's Rice People

This film is poignantly devoted to Panh's family and whilst does not directly address the Pol Pot regime and consequences, there are allusions to it at times in the film. The film portrays the harshness of village life in Kandal province, Cambodia; the father dies after blood poisoning from a thorn injury, mother turns to drink and madness and the daughters are left with the task of harvesting their rice. The film tracks the seasonal development of the rice crop with the characters' stories interwoven. This is a great film, like all of Panh's work. March 25, 2007

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