The timing could not be more spot on for “Meeting With Pol Pot,” Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh’s quiet, powerful drama about three French journalists who visit the war-torn country and discover the horrors being perpetrated by Pol Pot under the dogma of revolutionary change. The film is playing in Cannes’ premiere section and debuted on Thursday night.
Of course, it’s never the wrong time to be reminded of the origins of genocide, and the fear and silence that it can impose on those hoping to survive it. But as the world feels engulfed anew by a wave of uncompromising protest around post-colonial and anti-imperial demands, it’s a great time to revisit the story of a left-wing regime that in its savage pursuit to supposedly create a just and equitable society, instead murdered a quarter of its people.
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