The Killing Fields

Sam Waterston is New York Times journalist Sydney Schanberg on post in Cambodia as the civil war comes to it's violent, cruel conclusion. Working with local journalist Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) they report on the rapidly deteriorating situation. When the American forces evacuate, Pran manages to get his family to safety but he can't leave himself and so Schanberg dedicates himself to the task of extricating his friend from the clutches of the brutal Pol Pot regime in the course of which he discovers just how extensive the "Year Zero" campaign that killed hundreds of thousands of the largely peaceful, agrarian population is. Roland Joffé has never made a better film; the poignancy with which he elicits loyalty and affection from the two prin...

A remarkable film that deserves to be viewed and that recalls a barbaric moment in the history of a country.

When there's a war, there's bound to be a film about what happened during that same war. Human conflicts have always fueled the film industry. It's something instinctive, we are attracted to the horror of carnage at the same time that we feel guilty about it, and we get tired of condemning violence and cruelty. I think that only those who have lived through a war have the ability to overcome this paradox, not only because of the memories evoked, sometimes traumatic, but also because of the awareness that there is nothing truly beautiful about this.

What happened in Cambodia (and Rwanda, Bosnia and other countries) was much ...

When a Southeast Asian country decides to reset to Year Zero

Just after the USA withdraws from Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge overtakes Phnom Penh in April, 1975 as an American journalist (Sam Waterston) is forced to leave his Cambodian buddy behind (Haing S. Ngor). The latter has no choice but to endure Pol Pots genocide over the next 3.5 years.

The Killing Fields (1984/1985) is a harrowing docudrama based on the true story. Its the furthest thing from a fun flick, but it effectively takes you back to the Cambodian holocaust and provides a good idea of what went down. Its the furthest thing from a conventional war flick, so stay away if thats what you want.

The best part is Dith Prans mind-blowing experiences after his American bu...