Koh
Pich or Diamond Island is the Cambodian government’s showcase development zone,
yet the young people who congregate there still think about leaving. For two
friends, this will probably entail one-way tickets, but the nature of their
travel will be radically different in Davy Chou’s short film, Cambodia 2099 (clip here), which screens during the 2015 Los Angeles AsianPacific Film Festival.
If
their dreams are any guide, both Kavich and Sotha will soon be leaving Phnom
Penh. The former will be joining his mother in Stockton as a conventional
immigrant, while the latter believes the secret of time travel has been
revealed to him. Naturally, it involves a crash helmet and red pajamas. Not so
surprisingly, it will be Kavich rather than Sotha who leaves behind a girlfriend, but he is not
so eager to have that farewell conversation with Vanary.
Chou’s
feature documentary Golden Slumbers was
so exquisitely moving his next project would probably be something of a let-down
no matter what it was. Throughout 2099 he
again displays a keen eye for visuals, but the tone and focus are somewhat
inconsistent, which is a problem for a short film. Nevertheless, it heralds the
remarkable debut of actress Sothea Vann. In many ways, she brings to mind Shu Qi
in Millennium Mambo, as two formerly
free-spirited party girls who are coming to terms with the disappointments of reality.
So
should Cambodia’s future generations stay or should they go? Cambodia’s
political and economic systems are obvious more firmly rooted in law than say
forty years ago, but they still leave much to be desired. It would be
convenient if Sotha could turn forward the hands of the clock to see whether it
is worth staying to struggle for further improvements. Either way, there will
be an increasing pool of modern, largely westernized students, like Vanary.
