Red Wedding

During the nightmare years of the Khmer Rouge's rule over Cambodia (1975-79), an estimated 250,000 young women were forced into marriages as part of a demented policy designed to aggressively drive up the nation's population. Directed by Lida Chan and Guillaume Suon (and produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rithy Panh), Red Wedding examines the after-effects of this horrific period through the life of 48-year-old Sochan Pen, who was forced into a Khmer Rouge marriage when she was 16. Sochan's chosen husband was a violent man who brutally assaulted her; after managing to escape, she remained in hiding until the ruling party was overthrown. Although Sochan would later remarry and have children, the pain of her earlier experience haunted her life, and she admits to relying on tranquilizers in order to sleep. Rather than continue to suffer in silence, Sochan also resolves to file a formal complaint with a national tribunal investigating the Khmer Rouge's abuses. Sochan's quest to make peace with her past is both inspiring and haunting—the pain she has carried for three decades often visible on her face when she looks at a world that betrayed her. A powerful documentary on both an emotional and intellectual level, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)