Despite its age, this film continues to be relevant.
“The Killing Fields” is a film about friendship and survival with the backdrop being civil war.
It is the true story about New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and Cambodian journalist and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) in early to mid-1970s Cambodia.
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The movie shows the secret bombing of Cambodia by the United States (the bombing was hardly a secret to the Cambodians) and the eventual fall of the regime to the Khmer Rouge.
Director Roland Joffe shows the stunning beauty of the country while also depicting the horror of life under the rule of Pol Pot.
The director shows explicitly how life with the Khmer Rouge in power was brutal and unforgiving, where children are encouraged to inform on adults.
Waterston’s character is wracked with guilt because he was able to leave Cambodia and had, despite his best efforts, to leave Pran behind.
Pran learns quickly how to adapt to life in the death camps and lays low while waiting for his chance to escape.
This film is a nail-biter, with the audience left to wonder if Pran will ever get away or be killed along with thousands of others.
Aside from Waterston and Ngor (who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Pran), the film includes excellent performances by John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson and Spalding Gray.
“The Killing Fields” is now available on DVD.
Murphy can be reached at [email protected]
