Funan (Denis Do)

[Philip J. Fry]

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[Philip J. Fry]

I watched this last week. A few thoughts:

How does it look? The characters are portrayed with drawings that look a bit realistic, with most of the details going to faces, expressions and just enough details (like a small mustache, a beauty mark, freckles or dimples) to distinguish the main players here, but never exaggerating.
This characters look like common people. Meanwhile, the backgrounds are where the animators show their mantle. They are rich in details, with ample forests, shots of enormous rice fields reflecting the sky while the characters are forced to work them, and orange sunsets which bring to mind certain shots of Apocalypse Now and The Killing Fields.

What about it? The story for the most part is simple: just to survive among four years of cruelty. After being separated from their son and home, Chou, Khoun and everyone they know are forced to work while starving, fighting diseases and seeing their family and friends suffer and die. The film is harrowing and while it chooses not to directly show several of the atrocities our characters witness (such as beatings, rapes and murders), the implications are still present and felt. It's not an easy film to watch, but it's still something worth watching.