Cambodia

Antoine's view

Although Angkor's temples are featured in my film about south-east Asia, I, for one, had not been there, as I had broken my leg two days before our shooting in Cambodia was scheduled. But I had promised myself I would go and spend some time in this country that slowly emerged from long years of drama; my friend Philippe, who has settled in Cambodia ten years ago, had for a long time invited me to discover the country he has fallen in love with, and I can understand him :

Life is sweet in the capital, Phnom Penh, where time seems to have stood still from the time of the French protectorate; the bright colours of the marketplaces. On the south shore, beautiful beaches and picturesque fishing boats; and, most of all, the immense beauty of Anchor's temples, bearing witness to the religious obsession of ancient Khmer people, through the hundreds of reproductions of Avalokitesvara's face, an image of Buddha, that grace all the sides of the Baion, or the thousands of Apsaras, lovely bare breasted dancers that grace the façades of Angkor's huge main temple, Angkor Vat. Spectacular also are the giant roots of banyan trees that embrace the ruins of Ta Promh : in the afternoon light they resemble flows of gold.