VHS : The Killing Fields [1984]

Rating: - A real lesson from history
This is a beautifully made, moving film depicting the harsh regime of the Khmer Rouge communist revolutionaries in 1970's Cambodia. The film focuses on the real-life relationship between Cambodian Dith Pran and American journalist Sidney Schanberg. The acting is superb, particularly from Dr. Haing S Ngor who played the part of Dith Pran and who did himself survive the Killing Fields.
In my opinion, it is necessary to have a background knowledge of the political events during this time (eg. the Cambodian government being overthrown by the Khmer Rouge and the subsequent evacuation of the cities) as without this, the film may be confusing in parts. However, this DVD does helpfully give the viewer the option to choose a brief historical recounting of the events of this time, and I would definitely recommend selecting this before watching the movie.

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Rating: - "The crime that is thinking too much about the past"
Apparently this film was cut by American censors to remove images of the Vietnamese providing aid to Cambodian refugees after they overthrew the Khmer Rouge. If true, it fits well into the film's depiction of a global power, claiming and then abandoning a country for the sake of its own political ends.
The film falls into two parts. The first is in pre-year 0 Cambodia, during a war betwwen royalist and Khmer Rouge forces that is driven into febrile excess by American bombing runs. This part of the film creates a feeling of a country sliding into the abyss and shows how thin a veneer civilization is. The second part of the film is set post-year 0, when the Khmer Rouge have assumed control of the country. Here there is no sense of inescapable descent - we have gone down as far as we can into a living hell.
In the first half we follow Sidney Schanberg and his colleague Dith Pran as they cover the war. Then Pran refuses the air-lift to remain in the country as the Khmer Rouge close in. He is trapped, despite the efforts of his friends to aid his escape. He remains behind as they are expelled. The second part has Schanberg back in America conducting a letter writing campaign to find his friend. However, the bulk of the second half involves Pran in Cambodia attempting to escape into Vietnam.
The film is not for the faint-hearted: the first half is unsettling in its depiction of chaos breaking loose and the second half contains some nightmarish imagery (especially Pran's discovery of the eponymous 'killing fields'). However, it is a mature and well-produced film that has a strong, compassionate core and seems to fit the times we live in as much as it fitted the times when it was first released.

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Rating: - A remakable testimount to a real life friendship
'Now is the year 0 and everything must start anew... I am full of fear Sydney, I must have no past, this is the year 0 and nothing has gone before'

These are the words spoken by Dith Pran as images of the unspeakable horrors of the Cambodian revolution fill the screen. The Killing Fields is a film that leaves a lasting emotional impression.

It portrays the real life friendship between NY Times correspondent Sydney Schomberg (Sam Waterson) and his Cambodian interpreter Dith Pran (Haing Ngor). The film depicts events stretching over a seven-year period, from the 1973 American bombing of Neak Luang village, to the Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975, and their eventual fall following the 1978 Vietnamese invasion. With such a difficult and disturbing subject matter and a complex timeframe the film could easily have floundered. Instead it succeeds because it filters these events through the eyes of two men, which bestows it with a real interpretive power.
It is superficially similar to Salvador directed by Oliver Stone. Both films critique the negative consequences of American military involvement in poor war-torn countries by depicting the work of journalists. However, inspite of the fact that the guilt of Schomberg at leaving his friend to suffer in Cambodia is intended to mirror the wider American involvement and subsequent neglect of that country (portrayed in one powerful scene), the content is never as bluntly political. It is very much more a personal account, and whilst the images shock, they are naturalistic in style and never as over-blown as in Salvador. The performances are very strong and full of integrity. Particularly moving is Ngor, whose Oscar winning portrayal of Dith Pran struggling to survive the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime is drawn from his own personal experience as a survivor of the atrocities. This film draws attention to one of the most regrettable chapters in recent history, and that in itself is valuable. However, perhaps its most remarkable achievement is to demonstrate in an extremely moving account the resilience of the human spirit in the face of despair.

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Rating: - The story of all storys
I was 22 when I first saw this film & I was glad that I saw it alone. I was living with my parents in a loving family in Renfrewshire, Scotland & although reasonably educated, was rather oblivious to the horrors that really went on in our worlds past. By the end of the film I was in tears as the story unfolded, but not in misery, just in the joy that after the failures of the military & politicians in america & cambodia, Sidney Schanberg kept on looking for his dear friend Dith Pran not knowing what might become of him. A film of endurance & of what might be, when the heart has the will to endure the fight ahead, even though the consequences may be great. I didn't realise until the end that this was a true story & it makes all the difference when you realise the struggle Dith Pran, a New York Times Photogropher & Cambodia itself went thru at the hands of the Khmer Rouge were to take, would have such a dramatic outcome. When the Red Cross are all that can save them, we are treated to a truly delightfull outcome to what was a terrible area of the worlds forgotten past. A past that the west has forgotten although the wake of it is still in our midst.

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Rating: - Unsurpassed
The Killing Fields is probably my favorite film of all time. I find it difficult to describe this film; most of the words I can think of seem to do it a gross injustice. I think 'enjoyable' might not be a word I would choose simply because its portrayal of life under the Khmer Rouge is so unbelievably harrowing. It's certainly upsetting and even unpleasant. Even so, it is without a doubt the most fulfilling and worthwhile film I've ever seen.

The whole thing builds up to the final scene which, although very short and simple, can't fail to wrench at your heart. I last saw it many years ago and it brings tears to my eyes just to think of it - no kidding. If you're a bit girlie, you'll need some tissues on standby. If you're a big tough guy, you'll have to ask your girl for some !