MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

2003 · 101 min

A harrowing, quietly devastating confrontation with genocide, where ordinary faces recount unimaginable cruelty with unsettling calm.

Directed by
Rithy Panh
Genres
Documentary, History, War
Starring
Chum Mey, Khieu 'Poev' Ches, Yeay Cheu
Overview
Documentary of the S-21 genocide prison in Phnom Penh with interviews of prisoners and guards. On the search for reasons why this could have happened.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Rithy Panh
Genres
Documentary, History, War
Starring
Chum Mey, Khieu 'Poev' Ches, Yeay Cheu
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • guilt
  • morality
  • memory
  • violence
  • death
Places
  • prison
  • big city
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action0
Horror6
Humour0
Realism10
Romance0
Tension7
Darkness9
Complexity7
Emotional weight10

More like this

Titles like S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine

Short film

Night and Fog

1956

A solemn, unflinching meditation on atrocity that juxtaposes serene present-day ruins with harrowing archival footage, demanding quiet reflection.

Bleak, melancholic · about guilt and memory · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • guilt
  • memory
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
32 min
Details
Night and FogHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Shoah

1985

An unflinching, monumental descent into testimony and memory that demands sustained focus and leaves a profound, haunting weight.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and memory · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • guilt
  • memory
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
566 min
Details
ShoahHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Enemies of the People

2009

A patient, sobering documentary that sits with perpetrators and survivors, asking viewers to bear witness to atrocity and its long aftermath.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
93 min
Details
Enemies of the PeopleHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

First They Killed My Father

2017

A harrowing, immersive plunge into a child's view of genocide, unrelenting in its sorrow and quiet in its observation.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
136 min
Details
First They Killed My FatherHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Meeting with Pol Pot

2024

A slow, suffocating descent into staged propaganda and creeping horror, seen through outsiders' eyes.

Same director: Rithy Panh · Bleak, tense, slow-burn · about guilt · true story

Also
Same director: Rithy Panh
Via
  • bleak
  • tense
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
113 min
Details
Meeting with Pol PotHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Act of Killing

2012

A surreal, unsettling descent into the minds of unrepentant killers, blending staged reenactments with raw confession to haunting effect.

Bleak, slow-burn · about guilt and memory · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • guilt
  • memory
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
159 min
Details
The Act of KillingHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Look of Silence

2014

A quiet, devastating confrontation with past atrocities, watching a man calmly face killers and their families, leaving a heavy, haunting sense of unresolved grief.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and memory · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • guilt
  • memory
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
100 min
Details
The Look of SilenceHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Killing Fields

1984

A harrowing, immersive plunge into war and genocide, anchored by a friendship that makes the horror personal and unforgettable.

Bleak, tense · about guilt · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • tense
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
142 min
Details
The Killing FieldsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Auschwitz Report

2021

A harrowing, tension-filled journey that weighs heavily, offering little relief as it depicts the struggle to bear witness.

Bleak, tense, slow-burn · about guilt · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • tense
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
95 min
Details
The Auschwitz ReportHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Zone of Interest

2023

A chilling, immersive experience where domestic banality and unseen atrocity create a haunting, unforgettable unease.

Bleak, tense, slow-burn · about morality and death

Via
  • bleak
  • tense
  • morality
  • death
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
105 min
Details
The Zone of InterestHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Cain's Children

2014

A somber, quietly haunting documentary that lingers on faces and memories, demanding patience as it unearths buried pain.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and memory · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • guilt
  • memory
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
99 min
Details
Cain's ChildrenHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Dead Man Walking

1995

A somber, morally serious drama that weighs heavily, with quiet tension and raw performances building to an emotionally devastating climax.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about guilt and death · true story

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • guilt
  • death
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
122 min
Details
Dead Man WalkingHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary, history, war
Directed by
Rithy Panh
Written by
Rithy Panh
Starring
Chum Mey, Khieu 'Poev' Ches, Yeay Cheu, Nhiem Ein, Houy Him, Ta Him, Nhieb Ho, Prakk Kahn
Music
Marc Marder
Cinematography
Prum Mésar, Rithy Panh
Runtime
101 min
Country
Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Switzerland
Languages
Khmer, Vietnamese

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.