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After the fall of Pol Pot's communist regime, current prime minister Hun Sen carried the hope of many Cambodians. But their hopes have been undermined. Plans by real estate developers are threatening homes in the capital Phnom Penh and the rice plantations in the countryside, driving their owners to despair. Justice is hard to find in these Kafkaesque situations and the accompanying violence against citizens. In the Boeung Kak neighborhood of Phnom Penh, where many families have already been forced to leave their homes, a group of women courageously struggle against the government, hoping to keep their homes, or at least get reasonable housing in return. It's a one-sided battle, something the women know all too well. One of the women, Vanny, describes herself and her sisters-in-arms: "We are like drowning ants; we cling to the floating branches around us." This is a harrowing documentary about the unequal balance of power in a post-communist developing country. The director films everywhere from down in the mud to the upper echelons. And he keeps a close track on the Boeung Kak residents' struggle, while also letting Hun Sen and the opposition have their say. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
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