Somehow despite interviewing several Cambodian academics and local archaeologists this documentary manages to minimise their voices and contributions to understanding of this powerful ancient empire.
The narrator speaks over a Dr (Prue Leith, coz one of her kids was adopted from Cambodia?! Kinda offensive in itself, and think her daughter actually makes films so why not get her to do it?!)
Experts speaking English as a second language are subtitled despite speaking perfect English (except the French fellows).
There are suggestions that until archaeological sites were investigated by the French or re-opened to foreigners post CPK/Khymer Rouge 'the locals' were ignorant of and not interested in their own cultural history.
Pauline Carroll says whilst 'we' (in the West) can understand Greeks or Romans, Asian cultures are a different world.
Several minutes are given over to showing video from the USA/Vietnam war-exploitative and dehumanising and has absolutely no place in a documentary like this.
Really odd and uncomfortable choices, especially since its more than 45 years since Edward Said wrote Orientalism - there really is no excuse.
In addition the history and data is not presented chronologically, thematically or in order of excavation... just randomly stuck together. As another reviewer has stated the music is really unecessary and distracting. Some facts, like the size of the population, are repeated mulitple times, and Pauline's place in the whole thing seems somewhat redundant (often who have an arch in these shows to ask questions, even if they know the answer, or present current or previous theories but Prue's chatting all over everything)
All this is extremely annoying as the culture and archaeology are fascinating and the new tech/LIDAR scans and better acceptance by archs of local knowledge (as "JB" Chevance acknowledges his guide basically told him there was a big ol' site) give really exciting evidence and it would have been cool to hear more potential theories and future possibilities.
I will watch the second episode but go in knowing the presentation will be disappointing but the information won't.
