Do you think the theme of real estate in the film seems to highlight a feeling of urban emptiness in a rapidly developing country like Cambodia? Because real estate itself is a representation of materialism and consumerism, acquiring properties equates to acquiring a sense of urban security. The film also features traditional Cambodian elements eg. traditional architectural structure like Angkor Wat and Cambodian ancient tales, they all play an interesting contrast with the rapidly developing modern Cambodia, Was it in your intention that the film is also a representation of the struggle between the past and the present in terms of the ambiguous collective identity of being an Cambodian, and also the struggle between the tradition and a “westernised” modernity?
I think you understand the effects of development well. Yes, everything you mention are things that happen all over the world, including Cambodia. I don’t speak directly on the struggle of past and present but it’s there. There are some other films which do talk directly on this.