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The Killing Fields (1984)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 12/13, 2/22

KillingF
12/13: There's no denying the fact that The Killing Fields is a powerful motion picture.

However, there's a deduction of one point for the lack of historical background about what happened in Cambodia during the 70's. I have to know it beforehand. As the years pass, more people like me are increasingly unaware of such events, hence the need for the films to serve as a reminder. That's why there are some moments here that are either confusing or unclear.

On the other hand, the acting is top-notch. It's Roland Joffé's direction that makes the film work. Compared to The Mission with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, there's a big difference in the execution as The Killing Fields is more emotionally feeling.

All in all, The Killing Fields will have to be viewed again later.

2/22: The Killing Fields is the gold standard of wartime reporting pictures.

The other I can think of that comes close to this level of excellence is Salvador by Oliver Stone. They are both 1a and 1b. This is what it takes to go out in the war zone and document what's going on. John Malkovich taking pictures is a brilliant example of this.

During the Vietnam War, Cambodia was designated as a neutral country which meant it was supposed to be left alone. But the United States ignored it by bombing the hell out of Cambodia. As a result, the Khmer Rouge emerged, with the support of the Chinese Communist Party, and went on to slaughter approximately 25% of Cambodia's population because they, the intelligentsia and anyone associated with the former government, were viewed as scapegoats. In 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and quickly destroyed most of the Khmer Rouge. All of it is former U.S. President Richard Nixon's fault, and he was a true mass murderer.

Dith Pran, the subject of the film, was the first to coin the term "killing field" to describe the Cambodian genocide. When the capital fell in 1975 as shown in the film, it was Phnom Penh. Sydney Schanberg received the Pulitzer Prize for his wartime reporting in Cambodia.

A first-time nonprofessional actor, Dr. Haing S. Ngor lived through the experience and remains the only Asian to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He went through three terms of prison and survived by eating beetles, termites, and scorpions. In 1996, while in the parking garage, Ngor was murdered by an Asian gang who wanted his valuables, but he refused to give up the locket that contained the picture of his deceased wife.

Chris Menges won the Oscar for Best Cinematography. He received another two years later for The Mission. Sam Waterston was Oscar-nominated, but John Malkovich wasn't although he did get it for Places in the Heart during the same year. The presence of Haing S. Ngor certainly makes The Killing Fields more real. Here's what Julian Sands said about being cast:

"Roland's audition process was extraordinary. I was 24, and I've never come across anything as rigorous since. He was looking to put together a troupe of actors without much film experience because he wanted the freshness of everything to resonate with us. He would gather lots of us in his office to improvise scenes. After about a month, he had a group he found interesting. John Malkovich, Sam Waterston, and Haing S. Ngor weren't subject to that, but their meetings with him were still pretty intense. A lot was made of the fact that Haing hadn't acted before, but John put it differently: he said Haing had been acting his whole life...you had to be a pretty good actor to survive the Khmer Rouge."

All in all, The Killing Fields is a powerful film of what it's like to be in a war zone.