DVD Review: Duch: Master of the Forges of Hell

STUDIO: First Run Features | DIRECTOR: Rithy Panh
DVD RELEASE DATE: 8/6/2013 | PRICE: DVD $24.95
BONUSES: none
SPECS: NR | 103 min. | Documentary | 1.33:1 widescreen | stereo | French and Khmer with English subtitles

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

Rithy Panh’s 2011 Duch: Master of the Forges of Hell is more of a historical document than a documentary film. Like Errol Morris’ Fog of War, the bulk of the feature is composed of a single interview with a once-powerful man who has a lot of blood on his hands. Unlike Mr. Morris, however, Panh has no desire to turn this film into a vehicle for personal expression; the goal is clear here–to record, for posterity, the thoughts and actions of a man responsible for much torture and death under the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in Cambodia.

Duch achieves its goal–mostly. A follow up to Panh’s previous film, S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, Duch assumes the audience is already familiar with this bit of world history. If you’re not, you will be somewhat confused, as almost no historical context is given- though it’s pretty easy to figure out the basic “story” of this post-Vietnam nightmare.

During the few years in which the Khmer Rouge terrorized Cambodia, Duch directed two of the Guantanamo-style detention centers where thousands of people were tortured and killed. Like all men who have played the role of evil villain on History’s stage, Duch placed his party above all else, never once questioning the morality of his actions (at least, on the outside.) Years later, he became the first Khmer Rouge leader to be sentenced for his crimes; the film’s interview takes place in prison, where Duch will remain for the rest of his life.

This might be a case of being lost in translation, but it’s difficult to sit through 100 minutes of a talking head without being given any clues as to why and how a man could be capable of such horrific actions and yet seem so… okay with everything. Now an unintimidating old man, Duch discusses his past as one might some old college memories, often smiling as he does so. One particularly telling incident involved interrogating his former grade-school teacher, a kind woman whose only crime was being educated. The interrogator did some pretty nasty things to her, things which apparently “bothered” Duch – but he could do nothing for fear of being accused of favoritism.

How much this reflects Dutch’s own personal shortcomings and how much is a reflection of the fear everyone lived with under the Khmer Rouge is impossible to guess (to a westerner, at least. The film probably plays quite differently to Cambodians.) Sometimes we cut to interviews of people who worked under Duch starkly describing their daily torture routines or recalling some harsh anecdotes. We then see Duch watch and react to the interviews with such nonchalance- while often denying their accounts- it begs the question what is up with this guy?

The obvious answer, not that the film ever says so, is that the only way a human mind can survive a life so extreme is to, quite literally, check out. Although Duch is quite lucid in his interview, he clearly lost his moral compass a long time ago. Duch the film may not be much of a movie, but it’s definitely an essential document in the annals of human history, and a testament to how far the human mind can go when given too much power.