Movie Review: Karmalink

Cambodian science fiction film Karmalink takes place in a near future version of capital city Phnom Penh. The residents of one of the poorer neighborhoods are being forced to relocate to make way for the construction of a new bullet train to China. Young boy Leng Heng (Leng Heng Prak) is having visions of his past lives in which he sees a golden statue of Buddha that he believes he can sell to prevent his family’s eviction, if only he can follow it forward through time to find out where it wound up.

After making little progress with his friends, Leng Heng recruits Srey Leak (Srey Leak Chhith) to help. A homeless orphan who claims to be an expert at finding things, she quickly proves useful to the search and keeps the group on track. In order to better understand Leng Heng’s visions, Srey Leak tracks down her brother so that they can both get nanotechnology installed that would allow them to record and rewatch the dreams, which in turn puts them on the trail of a renowned neuroscientist.

The melding of traditional Buddhist teachings with science fiction concepts makes Karmalink feel fresh and exciting and allows for some fascinating ruminations on the idea of reincarnation and the nature of fate. Setting the story only slightly in the future means that we still get a good idea of what life is like in present day Cambodia and some of the striking disparities between the upper and lower classes there. In his feature directing debut, Jake Wachtel makes a strong first impression and offers up some genuinely beautiful imagery. Some of the cast aren’t quite as good as others, though no one comes off terribly and the two leads prove more than capable of carrying the movie, which makes the untimely death of Leng Heng Prak all the more tragic. There’s a lot to take in here, but it’s presented in a way that makes it relatively easy to keep up as it leads to an ending that is both surprising and somewhat cathartic. ★★★★★