Nine Levels of Hell

Summary

This Czech-Cambodian romantic drama from 1987 belongs among those eighties co-productions that stemmed from cultural activities agreed with “friendly regimes” of the time. Its main character is Czech doctor Tomáš, who is searching for his lost wife Khema in 1979 Cambodia. After arriving in the exotic but troubled country in 1969, he had fallen in love with a beautiful dancer despite the will of her parents. However, the happy couple are separated amid a series of coup d'états, leaving Tomáš facing the wreckage of his previous life. The genocide waged against the Cambodian population by the Khmer Rouge government has destroyed everything he has come to know... This unexpectedly dramatic picture from director Milan Muchna (his previous filmography revelled in humour (Hop – a je tu lidoop – Monkey’s Playtime, 1978; Únos Moravanky – The Moravanka Band’s Been Kidnapped, 1983; Divoké pivo – Wild Beer, 1995...)). Milan Kňažko plays the main role, while in the retrospective scenes he is ably supported by Cambodian star Oum Sovanny.

Synopsis

Note

The expert consultant Ruy Neakong Ruy is one of only fourteen survivors from the twenty thousand prisoners of the Tuol Slen camp which operated in Phnom Penh between 1975 and 1979. The Museum of Genocide was established there on the 7th of January 1980. The expert consultant Chheng Phon – the director of the Cambodian National Conservatoire and later the Cambodian minister of culture – earned credit for educating the young representatives in the national cultural traditions (theatre, music) because only a few students and ten teachers survived.