Really Surprised!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I don't think even this picture can accurately convey the horror of the Khmer Rouge and their policy of Cambodian genocide during the era of the mid-Seventies. It was a terrible time for that country with estimates upward of three million Cambodians massacred by the Pol Pot regime, and all because of an extreme combination of Marxism, Khmer nationalism and xenophobia. When Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) stumbled onto the 'Killing Fields' of the film's title while attempting to escape the barbarism of his captors, one can only look on in fascination at an impossibly grotesque landscape. With a more than obvious slant regarding the Khmer Rouge as a by-product of American bombing in Cambodia, one might balance that view with a more careful reading of history, but even so, historians still fall on both sides of the matter. In any case, Cambodia was one of the dominoes that fell during this period with the help of the North Vietnamese Army during the early Seventies.Haing S. Ngor was a fledgling actor when he appeared in this film as Cambodian journalist Dith Pran but one wouldn't know it. The picture and story becomes his following the evacuation of Phnom Penh and the victory of the Khmer Rouge rebels. One can't imagine what emotions and hardships the real Dith Pran must have undergone after the American contingent left. Surviving in turn by drinking cattle blood and relentlessly pursuing any possible means of escape, his story is one for the ages regarding one man's quest for freedom and dignity. There also comes a moment in the film when while viewing today, there's the added poignancy of observing the Twin Towers looming above a New York City landscape when Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) returns home from his Cambodian assignment. To my mind, I don't know of any other film that touches on the Cambodian War and it's attendant horror the way this one does. It was a time when, as Dith Pran so accurately stated at one point - "The enemy is inside us. No one can be trusted." With all that, there's only one question I have about the making of the film and choice of scenic backdrops for much of the action, and that is, just how many times do you think it was necessary to be subjected to all that product placement by Coca-Cola?

'The Killing Fields', is Roland Joffé's ground-breaking, British-made drama about the Kymer Rouge's brutal, 5-year regime in Cambodia. This Academy award-winning film, made in 1984, tells the true story of an American newspaper journalist, (Sydney Schanberg) and his Cambodian Assistant, (Pran) before, during and after the takeover by Pol Pot and his murderous Khmer Rouge regime.The film is beautifully directed, shot and acted and it accurately portrays a truly harrowing and heart-breaking period in Cambodia's recent history. The Killing Fields should be compulsory viewing for anyone who lives in this region, particularly in Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam. This genocide only took place some 37 years ago, yet for most people under thirty, they have little or no knowledge of what took place, right on their doorstep. Here in Thailand, there seems to be universal ignorance of tragic events that happened so close to their common border. Estimates of the total number of deaths resulting from Khmer Rouge policies during the period they controlled the country (1975-1979), including from disease and starvation, range from 1.7 to 2.5 million out of a population of around 8 million, or give or take, 25% of the population. One American reviewer recently described this film as 'The Ultimate Ugly American Movie' and goes on to say: '….that amazing film about the human price of American involvement in Southeast Asia….' The film includes some 'telling references' about America's dubious role in the terrible events that overtook Cambodia, such as: "After what the Khmer Rouge have been through, I don't think they'll be exactly affectionate toward Westerners…." (spoken by a US embassy official) and: "Maybe we underestimated the anger that $7 billion in bombing would unleash." (Sydney Schanberg.) During the U.S. war in Vietnam, Cambodia was embroiled in a bloody civil war between the communist Khmer Rouge, backed by China and North Vietnam, and Cambodian government forces backed by the U.S. From 1969-73, the U.S. military covertly carpet-bombed eastern Cambodia in an attempt to disrupt North Vietnamese operations and defend the government against the Khmer Rouge, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Cambodian citizens. For a country which at the time had a population of about 6 million, the losses were enormously devastating. Amongst the Cambodian populace, resentment grew against the U.S. and what was perceived as the American "puppet government" in Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge represented resistance to the U.S. and consequently, as bombs continued to fall, Cambodian citizens flocked to join them.Sydney Schanberg, who was a New York Times reporter and renowned for his experience in Cambodia at the time, said the Khmer Rouge "… would point… at the bombs falling from B-52s as something they had to oppose if they were going to have freedom. And it became a recruiting tool until they grew to a fierce, indefatigable guerrilla army." Eventually, the Khmer Rouge were able to overwhelm the government forces and establish control over Cambodia, leading to Pol Pot's "agrarian revolution", the killing fields, the torture centres and the loss of some 2 million Cambodian lives.In his memoirs, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has denied that the U.S. is at all responsible for the rise of the Khmer Rouge. But bitterly recounted descriptions of the bombings by survivors of the Khmer Rouge terror demonstrate that there is little to separate the U.S. bombings and Khmer Rouge brutality in the minds of Cambodian survivors. Who better to determine accountability than those who most directly suffered? It is impossible to say for certain, but such personal accounts are a powerful condemnation of the bombings and evidence that the U.S. government at the time was significantly responsible for what occurred thereafter.It is impossible to know for sure whether the bombing of Cambodia from 1969-73 led directly or indirectly, to massive suffering and the deaths of a full one-third of Cambodia's population at the time. But worse is the dysfunction caused by that tragedy which continues to profoundly affect Cambodian society to this day. I have been to Cambodia several times in recent years, and it was a very rare occurrence when I met anyone over 40 years of age.If you missed the Killing Fields when it was first released, or you were too young - or yet to be born - go search it out and watch a piece of truly horrifying history within living memory.

In 1973, New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) goes to cover the war in Cambodia with Dith Pran as his interpreter. They cover the war along side other journalists like Al Rockoff (John Malkovich) and Jon Swain (Julian Sands). A military adviser (Craig T. Nelson) tries to cover up an accidental American B-52 bombing of an innocent town. Eventually the Khmer Rouge threatens to overrun the country. Dith Pran decides to stay despite the danger while his family leaves. After the fall, Phnom Penh is evacuated and the group finds refuge in the French embassy. The foreigners are allowed to go home but Dith Pran and the locals are not so lucky.Director Roland Joffé creates a masterpiece. It is shockingly intense without warning. It is deep emotionally. He captures the desperate instability and the unknowable fear of the fall of the capital. The chaos and the random brutality is perfect. The acting is superb. Developing a picture has never been more intense. Then the movie does the unthinkable. It hands over the lead and the movie to a no name amateur Cambodian actor. The great surprise is that the movie is as compelling as ever. This is a historical biopic masterpiece from start to finish.

The 1970's was a time of tremendous political upheaval in the US. In The Killing Fields, Cambodia is the canvas, while politics, journalism, friendship, and the human will are the paints used to depict an in-your- face, true story of survival against all odds. The US government takes its lumps as we abuse, then abandon a people who are then embroiled in a bloody internal cleansing that kills several million Cambodians. The journalists Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and local Dith Pran (Dr Ngor) capture and transmit the daily atrocities back to the states for US consumption. Dr Ngor was an actual survivor of the real Killing Fields. How he had he courage to portray Dith Pran, I don't know, but it speaks to the courage he had, and apparently to promises he made to his wife to educate the world about what happened in Cambodia. That Dr Ngor won an Academy Award is astonishing, but after you watch this movie, you really feel like you lived through this horrific event because of Ngor's tremendous performance.Sam Waterston also turned in a strong performance as Shanberg. He realizes he took advantage of Pran as a means to his own ends, but by then, it's too late. Waterston was at his best when he stands toe to toe with Army reps, like Craig T. Nelson (from Coach), or the politicians. But near the end, when he has to take criticism from his own colleague who was with him (terrific performance by John Malkovich by the way), Waterston has no valid reply, and he knows it.The war scenes are incredibly real, the suffering in the killing fields is palpable, and the hopelessness of those trying to stem the entire unimaginable craze of hatred overtaking the Khmer Rouge is smothering.Some scenes are a bit long, and the ending would have been better without that particular song,which introduced a bit too much of a Hollywood ending at just the wrong time. Still, this is a must-see film that will stay with you long after the credits roll. Enjoy.