This is another of these enjoyable films from Alain Dayan traveling along the rivers of Asia, this time through the heartland of Cambodia from Angkor to Phnom Penh.
Angkor is not, of course, on a river, but it was completely reliant on controlling the waters and built huge water tanks to support its capital city, and irrigation canals to support its extended civilisation.
We start in the magnificent old capital city, looking at some of the remains there from the Angkorian civilisation, including Angkor Wat and Bayon, with its historical reliefs.
After lingering a long time in Angkor the film moves to the Tonle Sap, the largest inland lake in SE Asia, which is fed from the Mekong river, to see the lives and culture of people on the lake and along the river.
We also visit one of the surviving Cham communities in Cambodia, which later converted to Islam, and the nearby Wat Nokor built by Jayavarman VII.
The last stage of the journey takes us to Phnom Penh itself, a quite lack-lustre city, best known for its museums of the Pol Pot genocide, and a few modern and rather grand temples.
if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)
to see a set of stills click on the screenshot below
