Film
Mind Cage
Mind Cage is a 2016 Cambodian psychological thriller, directed by Amit Dubey, about a psychiatrist who takes on a traditional healer.[1] It was Dubey's first feature film.[2]
Synopsis
A rural traditional healer treats mental illness harshly and locks his patients in cages.[3] A psychiatrist from Phnom Penh opposes him over how a patient should be treated.[3][4] The doctor's act lands the disgraced healer in confinement, and the healer sets out for revenge.[2] As the psychiatrist struggles to defeat superstition and old beliefs, the healer threatens to tear his world apart.[5] He goes on a killing spree and torments the psychiatrist and his family.[4]
Production and credits
Amit Dubey, who is from India, wrote the film with Michael Hodgson. Jimmy Henderson was the cinematographer.[6][1] Henderson also produced the film.[2] Khyal Production is listed as a production company.[7]
The cast is all Khmer.[1] It includes Sarita Reth, Savin Phillip, Rous Mony and Socheata Sveng, who won Best Actor at the 2017 Cambodia International Film Festival.[6] The film was shot at Phnom Penh's White Building, once home to a community of Khmer artists, which a developer later tore down to build upscale condominiums.[1] The filmmakers set out to bring the thriller genre to Cambodian audiences without the ghost villains common in Cambodian cinema.[1] The film is in Khmer. The festival listing gives its length as 85 minutes, while the Cambodia International Film Festival guide gives 83 minutes.[6][3]
Release and reception
The film had its world premiere at the Cambodia International Film Festival on March 5, 2017, at Major Cineplex. It screened again at Legend TK Avenue on March 6 and Legend Stung Meanchey on March 8.[3] It was shown at the 2017 Luang Prabang Film Festival in Laos.[4] A Filmart 2018 review called it a rural man's pursuit of revenge against a middle-class professional.[2]
The film was an official selection of the 2018 Cambodia Town Film Festival in Long Beach, California. It screened with English subtitles on September 16, 2018, at the Art Theatre, presented by the CARE Foundation and the Wilson High Khmer Club.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 wheninphnompenh.com, 10 Cambodian Movies to Watch in 2018 - When in Phnom Penh (2018-02-25)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 IMDb, 'Mind Cage': Film Review - Filmart 2018 (2025-12-12)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Asian Film Festivals, 10 Films you cannot miss at the Cambodia International Film Festival (2017-03-05)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Passions and Places, Luang Prabang Film Festival
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cambodia Town Film Festival, CTFF 2018 OFFICIAL SELECTION: MIND CAGE (archived)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 web.archive.org, Cambodia Town Film Festival (2018-07-24)
- ↑ FilmAffinity, Mind Cage (2016)