由1955年到1970年，施漢諾親王統治下實行「皇室佛教社會主義」。這個集多方面不同政治理念的施政方針，使柬埔寨日益繁盛，邁向現代化。作為一個導演，這位親王亦展現了他多元化的興趣，拍過史詩式愛情電影、政治驚慄片和紀錄片等等，其電影生涯由60年代發展到他逝世的2012年。本片正能集他電影美學之大成，以其獨特風格講述一位公主趁著丈夫入獄，而去盡情拈花惹草，大小通吃。一邊批判柬埔寨上流社會的奢華，同時又歌頌60年代的豪華生活。這部電影的重要性在於其記載了一個被消滅了的繁華盛世。

From 1955 to 1970, Norodom Sihanouk ruled an increasingly affluent and modernised Cambodia with a doctrine fusing wildly disparate ideas from across the political spectrum. As a filmmaker, he also liked to experiment with genres, having directed lavish historical romances, political thrillers and documentaries from the 1960s up until his death in 2012. The Joy of Living embodies Sihanouk's unique approach in covering all bases with what he did, this time within just one film. Revolving around a princess who exploited the absence of her imprisoned husband by indulging in endless affairs with lovers young and old, The Joy of Living is at once a critique of the excess of Cambodia's social elite and a celebration of their lavish lifestyles in the 1960s, especially the exuberant pop music John Pirozzi immortalised in his 2014 documentary Don’t Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll.

Screening print courtesy of the CNC French Film Archives