A heartbroken Western clown wanders the Cambodian countryside. Dressed in a neat red and gold tunic with standard-issue comically oversized shoes associated with such folk, he leaves in his wake a slew of baffled and bemused Cambodians not entirely sure what it is they’ve just witnessed. As two very disparate cultures gently collide, a series of increasingly meaningful happy accidents begins to piece back together the shattered circus entertainer.
To watch Inside The Belly Of A Dragon, a late entry into this month’s Cambodian International Film Festival, is to consider Cambodia in a surprising new light. British co-directors/writers Ian Wiggins and Hugh W Brown were determined there would be none of the usual Western stereotypes in their feature-length offering – screening at the festival alongside other much-anticipated movies, including John Pirozzi’s Khmer rock ‘n’ roll epic Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten, and The Last Reel by Sotha Kulikar. No drunken barangs, no girly bar scenes and no dreadlocked backpackers getting high at full moon parties. Instead, a beautifully shot and at times touchingly personal journey through the nation’s landscape and the lives of its people.
Of his start in filmmaking, Wiggins, now based in Sihanoukville, says: “I was working for British Rail and when it was privatised; my section had no boss and no real work for over three months, so a friend and I made a gangster film using other staff as actors and our workplace as the set. From there I went on to make the first version of Tache Force, which became a bit of an internet hit.” From there he met Brown on a filmmaking mission in Ream.
The results of an initial collaboration in the historic enclaves of Sihanoukville Railway Station, Inside The Belly Of A Dragon is ample inspiration to seek out the stunning and often offbeat locations used throughout the film. “We both had some ideas in advance but we did a recce two months before starting filming,” says Wiggins. “It was Hugh who found the Dragon Mountain and cave near Kampot that became the film’s title as well as the location for the closing scenes. We also found some great locations in Kirirom National Park; a truly breathtaking part of Cambodia that is often missed by tourists.
“My two favourite scenes would have to be the ones in the rice field with the farmers, and the one with Kong Nay. Kong Nay is such a legendary figure, but also hugely funny and great company. The rice field scenes were just so natural; you wouldn’t believe they weren’t scripted or rehearsed. As to least favourite; that’s an easy choice. The final concert scenes in the cave were a total nightmare; not from any technical perspective, but purely because I had a hellish dose of dengue fever at the time, which made doing anything immensely difficult.”
There’s no storyline with Inside The Belly Of A Dragon per se, nor is there any dialogue, but there is an underlying premise that’s revealed towards the end (some directors might have left such discoveries to the more astute observer, but Wiggins and Brown reasoned that mixed audiences might miss the subtext). Silence can indeed be golden, due here to two factors: the leading man (Brown) and the at-times unwitting cast of Khmer extras.
As an actor, Brown wouldn’t seem out of place in the golden age of silent cinema: his comic timing and use of facial expressions to convey thoughts and emotions is at times Chaplinesque in its genius. The Irishman is a long-time circus, theatre and film performer, and since first coming to Cambodia ten years ago, has been involved in everything from school teaching to directing the original M’Lop Tapang carnival. He also has an alter-ego as Jitterbug Jackson, with credits including two appearances at the Street Performance World Championships.
The local ‘extras’, meanwhile, are often unaware of the rolling cameras and the capturing of their interaction with the strange barang clown roaming their lands. Wiggins achieved this through his use of low-tech camera equipment: the film is shot mainly with a Black Magic pocket cinema camera, and a Canon 5D for the wide shots. Their unobtrusive nature allowed Ian to shoot stills of the locals then, once they’d lost interest, return to filming their reactions. It’s a strategy that produces some wonderful moments, from the rice farmers to the numerous street scenes. There are also cameo appearances from the great Kong Nay, the Cambodian Space Project and Kampot’s Epic Arts.
As with the greatest films of the silent era, here music replaces dialogue. Ethereal dream sequences are scored perfectly, holding the whole film together. While Wiggins won’t admit to any particular influence, there are moments that feel vaguely familiar. There are shades of DW Griffith (without the Klan references), and the nature shots at times bring to mind Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi. The surreal scene at the old film set in Ream is vintage David Lynch at his very best. And there can be no mention of directorial influence without giving a nod to Wiggin’s very own Hitchcock-style cameo in the final scenes. At times magical, at times eye opening, this is a refreshing view of Cambodia by outside eyes minus the usual clichés.
A final word from Wiggins: “I didn’t really know much about the festival and, by the time I did, the date for entries had passed, but another filmmaker I’m friends with sent a copy in and the committee loved it and asked if they could show it. Now I’m just hoping the audiences like it as much as they did. As to my next project, I’m considering a documentary made up of interviews and flashbacks set during the Khmer Rouge era. I’ve unearthed a very personal story that’s quite close to home, but I’d rather not say too much about it just now…”
WHO: Movie buffs
WHAT: Cambodian International Film Festival
WHERE: Full details at cambodia-iff.com
WHEN: December 5 – 10
WHY: “Cinema is the ultimate pervert art. It doesn’t give you what you desire – it tells you how to desire.” – Slavoj Žižek