The Missing Picture

Last updated

The Missing Picture
The Missing Picture 2013 poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Rithy Panh
Written byRithy Panh
Christophe Bataille
Produced byCatherine Dussart
Narrated by Randal Douc
Jean-Baptiste Phou [1]
CinematographyPrum Mesa
Edited byRithy Panh
Marie-Christine Rougerie
Music byMarc Marder
Distributed byLes Acacias (France)
Release dates
  • 19 May 2013 (2013-05-19)(Cannes)
  • 21 October 2015 (2015-10-21)(France)
Running time
92 minutes
CountriesCambodia
France [2]
LanguageFrench [3]

The Missing Picture (French : L'Image manquante) is a 2013 Cambodian-French [4] documentary film directed by Rithy Panh about the Khmer Rouge. [5]

Contents

It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival [6] where it won the top prize. [7] It was also screened in the World Cinema section at the 2013 Cinemanila International Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize. [8] It won Best Documentary at the 21st Lumières Awards and was nominated for Best Documentary Film at the 41st César Awards as well as for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. [9] [10] [11]

Approximately half of the film is news and documentary footage, while the other half uses clay figurines to dramatise what happened in Cambodia when Pol Pot came to power. [3] [12]

Overview

The film portrays the horrors of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 using a blend of animation, archival footage, and clay dioramas by sculptor Sarith Mang. Director Rithy Panh, who lived through the Khmer Rouge's rise to power as a child, escaped to Thailand and eventually settled in France, where he pursued a career in cinema with a focus on depicting the genocide and its aftermath in Cambodia. Panh, who lost numerous family members to the regime, embarked on this film as a personal quest to reconnect with his stolen childhood. [13]

Through the narrative, Panh explores the loss of cultural identity inflicted by the Khmer Rouge, who aimed to forcibly reshape Cambodian society through radical socialism. [14] The film illustrates the erasure of individual identities, with citizens reduced to mere numbers and the suppression of their cultural heritage. Panh's use of clay figurines to fill the gaps in his memories adds a symbolic layer to the storytelling, evoking the innocence of childhood while depicting the brutal realities of life under the regime. [15] [16] [17]

The Missing Picture serves as an attempt to reconstruct a historical period where photographic evidence is scarce due to deliberate destruction by the Khmer Rouge. [18] Panh underscores the importance of cinema as a tool for bearing witness and preserving collective memory, countering the regime's distorted narrative with his own truth-seeking storytelling. [18]

Despite acknowledging the complexities of pre-crisis Cambodia, Panh's film captures the essence of his lived experience, offering a testament to resilience and the pursuit of truth. Beyond filmmaking, Panh is dedicated to nurturing Cambodian talent in the audiovisual arts, as evidenced by his establishment of the Audiovisual Center Bophana, which serves as both a repository of Cambodian memory and a training ground for aspiring filmmakers. [19]

Cast

Reception

The Missing Picture has an approval rating of 99% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 88 reviews, and an average rating of 8.26/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Thrillingly unorthodox and emotionally searing without being didactic, The Missing Picture is a uniquely poignant documentary -- and so much more". [22] It also has a score of 87 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rithy Panh</span> Cambodian film director

Rithy Panh is a Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Cambodia</span> Filmmaking in Cambodia

Cinema in Cambodia began in the 1950s, and many films were being screened in theaters throughout the country by the 1960s, which are regarded as the "golden age". After a near-disappearance during the Khmer Rouge regime, competition from video and television has meant that the Cambodian film industry is a small one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vann Nath</span> Cambodian writer and sculptor (1946-2011)

Vann Nath was a Cambodian painter, artist, writer, and human rights activist. He was the eighth Cambodian to win the Lillian Hellman/Hammett Award since 1995. He was one of only seven known adult survivors of S-21 camp, where 20,000 Cambodians were tortured and executed during the Khmer Rouge regime.

<i>S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine</i> 2003 documentary film directed by Rithy Panh

S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine is a 2003 documentary film directed by Rithy Panh. Rithy, himself a survivor of the Khmer Rouge, brought together two former prisoners of the regime with their former captors at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former Security Prison 21 (S-21) under the Khmer Rouge.

<i>Rice People</i> 1994 Cambodian film

Rice People is a 1994 Cambodian drama film directed and co-written by Rithy Panh. Adapted from the 1966 novel Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan, by Malaysian author Shahnon Ahmad, which is set in the Malaysian state of Kedah, Rice People is the story of a rural family in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, struggling to bring in a single season's rice crop. It was filmed in the Cambodian village of Kamreang, in the Kien Svay and Boeung Thom areas of Kandal Province near Phnom Penh, on the banks of the Mekong River. The cast features both professional and non-professional actors.

The Land of the Wandering Souls, or La terre des âmes errantes, is a 2000 French-Cambodian documentary film directed by Rithy Panh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dy Saveth</span> Cambodian actress (born 1944)

Dy Saveth is a Cambodian actress and first Miss Cambodia (1959) often referred to as the "actress of tears". She is "one of the most beloved actresses from the 1960s era of Cambodian film".

Bophana: A Cambodian Tragedy, or Bophana, une tragédie cambodgienne, is a 1996 French-Cambodian made-for-television docudrama directed by Rithy Panh.

<i>The Burnt Theatre</i> 2005 film by Rithy Panh

The Burnt Theatre, or Les Artistes du Théâtre Brûlé, is a 2005 French-Cambodian docudrama directed and co-written by Rithy Panh. A blend of fact and fiction, based on the actual lives of the actors, the film depicts a troupe of actors and dancers struggling to practise their art in the burned-out shell of Cambodia's former national theatre, the Preah Suramarit National Theatre in Phnom Penh.

Cambodge, entre guerre et paix is a 1991 French-Cambodian documentary film directed by Rithy Panh.

Am Rong was a Cambodian soldier and filmmaker, who acted as a spokesman on military matters for the Khmer Republic during the Cambodian Civil War. Western journalists commented on the irony of his name as he gave briefings which "painted a rosy picture of the increasingly desperate situation on the ground" during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davy Chou</span> Cambodian-French filmmaker

Davy Chou is a Cambodian-French filmmaker. He has written, directed and produced several films. Chou made his feature length debut with Diamond Island (2016) and made his follow-up with the film Return to Seoul (2022).

<i>Red Wedding</i> 2012 documentary film by Lida Chan and Guillaume Suon

Red Wedding is a 2012 documentary film co-directed by Lida Chan and Guillaume Suon, which portrays a victim of forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Guillaume Suon is a French-Cambodian filmmaker.

Lida Chan is a Cambodian filmmaker.

<i>The Storm Makers</i> 2014 Cambodian film

The Storm Makers is a 2014 documentary film directed by Guillaume Suon about human trafficking in Cambodia. The term "Storm Makers" refers to the traffickers and the damage they inflict on villages and families. One such trafficker shown in the film claims he has sold more than 500 Cambodian girls, some as young as 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bophana Center</span>

The Bophana Center is an audiovisual center located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The center is dedicated to restoring, protecting and enhancing the Cambodian audiovisual heritage.

<i>Exile</i> (2016 film) 2016 Cambodian film

Exile is a 2016 Cambodian-French documentary film edited, written, and directed by Rithy Panh which explores the effects of forced displacement. It was selected to screen in the Special Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>The Elimination</i>

The Elimination is an autobiographical account of Rithy Panh's survival during the Pol Pot regime. It was co-written with novelist Christophe Bataille and published in 2011 by Grasset Publishing. This book is also an essay and report that documents the one-on-one conversations between Rithy Panh and Duch, a former Khmer Rouge officer. To better represent the Khmer Rouge regime and to further influence the reader's mind, Rithy Pan juxtaposed his own personal story with the interviews with Duch

References

  1. ↑ "The Missing Picture movie (2013)" . Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Missing Picture". Screen International . 20 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Oscars: best foreign film contenders". BBC News. 21 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Cannes Film Review: 'The Missing Picture'". Variety . 30 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Young, Neil (23 May 2013). "The Missing Picture (L'Image manquante): Cannes Review". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Richford, Rhonda (26 May 2013). "Cannes: 'The Missing Picture' Wins Un Certain Regard Prize". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Cinemanila 2013 winners awarded Saturday night". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "France's Lumiere Awards: 'Mustang' Takes Top Honors". The Hollywood Reporter . 8 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "'Golden Years,' 'Marguerite,' 'Dheepan,' 'Mustang' Lead Cesar Nominations". Variety . 27 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Oscars: Main nominations 2014". BBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Missing Picture – review". The Guardian. 28 February 2014.
  13. ↑ Zylberman, Lior (2014) "The Missing Picture - Film Review," Genocide Studies and Prevention: Vol. 8: Iss. 3: 103-105.
  14. ↑ "The Missing Picture – review". the Guardian. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Missing Picture uses clay figurines to expose the horrors of history". The A.V. Club. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Fong, Christy (23 March 2015). "THE MISSING PICTURE = L'IMAGE MANQUANTE | By Rithy Panh". Pacific Affairs (UBC Journal). Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  17. ↑ Lemire, Christy. "The Missing Picture movie review (2014) | Roger Ebert" . Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Film of the week: The Missing Picture". British Film Institute. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Rosenberg, Scott.(2006). Retrieved from M & C Movies at: https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130345/http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1234058.php/Exclusive_interview_Cambodian_film_director_Rithy_Panh_%96_%93Angelina_Jolie_come_visit_the_Audiovisual_Center_Bophana!%94
  20. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (3 October 2013). "Review: 'The Missing Picture' a poetic study of Khmer Rouge horrors". Los Angeles Times.
  21. ↑ Bourne, Christopher. "New York Film Fest 2013 Review: THE MISSING PICTURE, A Hauntingly Poetic Work of Emotional and Historical Archeology". TwitchFilm. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Missing Picture (2014)" . Retrieved 10 October 2020– via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  23. ↑ "The Missing Picture" . Retrieved 10 October 2020– via www.metacritic.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.