The Independence Monument traffic circle was sealed off between 8 am and noon Wednesday for the filming of a scene from a new film by retired King Norodom Sihanouk about the fall of the Lon Nol regime.
The scene takes place April 17, 1975, once Phnom Penh has fallen to the Khmer Rouge. About a dozen soldiers wearing black uniforms in three jeeps cut off a crowd of about 100 people as they walk past Independence Monument on their way out of the city.
Soldiers tell the fleeing city-dwellers, who are dressed in 1970s-era clothing and riding French bicycles and old Vespas, that the revolution has succeeded and they must go to Pochentong Airport to greet their new leaders.
Actor Chhuon Roth, who carried a large leather suitcase atop his bicycle, said Wednesday that he was getting paid $10 for a day’s work on the film. He said the 15-minute film would take three days to shoot.
“The scene is not that difficult,” he said, adding that Friday they will film an execution scene near the airport where the rerouted residents meet their demise.
Princess Sisowath Siengdy said she received a request from the retired king to appear on the set Wednesday morning, driving a green Volkswagen Beetle.
“The story was composed by the retired king. If he was here, he would have directed the film,” she said, adding that she didn’t know the film’s entire plot, which is slated for broadcast on TVK.
“[The] retired King produces the film for his children to enjoy,” she said.
Motorbike taxi driver Mong Sarith, who was a bystander on the set, said he was 8 years old when the city actually fell to the Khmer Rouge. The actors, he said, got it all wrong.
“Those Khmer Rouge soldiers didn’t act well. They acted so gentle,” Mong Sarith said.
“The real Khmer Rouge in 1975 acted so fast. They also hit the people,” he said, adding that the actors’ Khmer Rouge uniforms did not look quite right either.
Still, the scene was reminiscent enough for Mong Sarith.
“The performance reminded me of the fall in 1975…. At that time, I was crying because I was afraid of the sound of shooting,” he said.
Ministry of Culture Cinema Department Director Muong Sokhan said he didn’t know anything about the film. “It is the retired king’s movie,” he said.
