PP Fight Club !

Em & I have visited a cool bar / art gallery / cinema venue called Meta House a couple of times since we've been here, and we think it's going to be one of our regular hang-outs. As well as an art gallery downstairs, there is a rooftop terrace bar and open air cinema which shows a different film each night. The art scene here isn't all that developed yet and Meta House seems to attract twenty or so people (a mix of expats and Khmers depending what's showing) each night. Last week we watched a documentary filmed in 1989 which tracked progress in Cambodia following the fall of the Khmer Rouge. There were some keen local historians in the crowd, and the Q&A session with the film-maker was fascinating, particularly to put what we'd seen in context of current events and the ongoing Khmer Rouge tribunal. The Prime Minister Hun Sen was interviewed in the film and his youth and passion for change in 1989 made for a stark contrast with the current state of affairs.

Last night we went to see a very different set of films made by a young Khmer guy who is a master and teacher in the mon-Khmer martial art of Yuthakun Khom. Apparently Yuthakun Khom dates back a thousand years or so to the Angkor Empire, and it consists of kicking, punching, wrestling and lock type moves as well as some weapons work (staffs, swords etc). Despite only having one small digital camcorder, the 21 year old film-maker Norak Soeng has written, directed and starred in several films which resemble low-budget Hong Kong martial arts flicks or Kung Fu movies. The cast is made up of the students of the local club where he teaches. The movies were pretty funny, and the live voice-over also caused some laughs (classic lines such as "You bastard!" and "I love you too, babe"). The action highlights were probably the flying head kick to knock a guy off a motorbike (no stunt doubles here), and the flying knee lock around the head followed by a roll down some stairs. Don't ask me how I managed to get Em along to what was essentially a "boys night", but I think she enjoyed it too. The film-maker has apparently won some awards at the Apsara TV video competition last year and i'd say it's well-deserved, I suspect he would like to become a Khmer Bruce Lee and he does have all the ingredients - great martial art skills, an eye for action, as well as good looks and a foppish haircut. Good on these guys for getting up and doing this stuff on such a low budget and minimal equipment.

The guide for Meta-House is available at most cafe's and bars around town, and there's also a web-site for anyone who's interested ; http://www.meta-house.com