June 2001
Tomb raiders have been stripping the site of priceless statues for years and selling them to an eager international market based in Thailand. As filmgoers view the magnificent temples there is a real fear that tourists will flock in, that orders for statues will swell and that Angkor Wat, which survived the Khmer Rouge, will finally fall to the lure of the dollar.
Anjelina Jolie stars as Lara Croft -- the buxom pistol-packing tomb raider from the phenomenally successful computer game. We investigate the clash of the virtual and the real, the blockbuster and third world desperation, and find that the profile the movie will bring may only serve to accelerate Angkor Wat's demise. Real tomb raiders have been stripping the site of priceless statues for years and selling them to an eager international market based in Thailand. As filmgoers view the magnificent temples there is a real fear that tourists will flock in, that orders for statues will swell and that Angkor Wat, which survived the Khmer Rouge, will finally fall to the lure of the dollar...
Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures
