Feature film
An Aeuy Srei An
អនអើយស្រីអន
Ly Bun Yim · 1972
Synopsis
Chea, the son of peasants, returns to the village after years of study and falls in love with his neighbour, Orn. His father's death and a landlord who demands the family's cow for overdue rent lead him to ask for help from his friend Sou, who has become rich and powerful through his father's inheritance; Sou disowns him because of his origins. Chea begins selling noodles with his younger brother, repays the debt and becomes engaged to Orn. But Sou, on meeting the young woman, falls in love with her in turn and decides to remove his rival.
Context
Co-directed with Chan Nary according to the Cambodian film commission, the film brings together Kong Som Eun as Chea, Virak Dara as Orn and Nop Nem as Sou, with songs by Sinn Sisamouth; it runs for two hours and three minutes. It takes up a legend linked to Cambodian wedding ceremonies and mixes into the melodrama many comic scenes, such as the rivalry of two noodle sellers. Preserved at the Bophana centre, it was presented by its director at the Memory film heritage festival in Phnom Penh.
Who it is for
For those who like the sung sentimental comedies of Khmer cinema before 1975, between village melodrama and bursts of laughter.
Prizes and reception
The Bophana centre counts it among the greatest films of the seventies, of which very few survive; it is also Virak Dara's most famous film.
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