“The Killing Fields” is a historical film that covers the brutal civil war in Cambodia when the communist Khmer Rouge group seized power in the 1970s. It could just as easily be classified as a horror film. The 1984 production is based on the true story of Dith Pran; a photojournalist who managed to escape the genocide in his native land.
“The Killing Fields” is a well-crafted film. It would win three of the seven Academy Awards it was nominated for. It’s also consistently ranked in the top 100 greatest British films of all time.
We all know the story of the Vietnam War, but its effects on neighboring Cambodia are not as renowned. Starting in 1973, New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) arrives in the capital city of Phnom Penh amidst absolute chaos. Schanberg meets Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor). What begins as a professional relationship quickly becomes a close bond as the two men attempt to report on the war and subsequent atrocities that surround them.
Sam Waterston is a recognizable face from his days on ‘Law & Order’ but here shows to be a capable movie star. His portrayal of Sydney Schanberg is great; and one can be thankful that a type of everyman like Waterston was cast in lieu of a bigger name. Sydney Schanberg would win the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his coverage of the war. Waterston serves well as his big screen representation.
The real star of the film is Haing Somnang Ngor, a Cambodian-American doctor who has an incredible biography of his own. Ngor was imprisoned in a Cambodian labour camp before eventually fleeing to the United States. The doctor had no acting experience before being cast as Dith Pran. To date he is the only Asian actor to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ngor does a phenomenal job as Dith Pran. The portrayal of raw emotions, switching from terror to anger in an instant, will have you forgetting you are watching a movie and not actual footage. Sadly, Ngor was senselessly murdered in Los Angeles in 1996 as the result of a mugging.
The supporting cast features some big names and faces, including the great John Malkovich as photographer Al Rockoff, Julian Sands as journalist Jon Swain, and Craig T. Nelson as a US militant.
Director Roland Joffé shot much of the production in Thailand which gives a perfect geographic feel to the setting. No punches are held in terms of what the viewer will witness. Explosions, blood, executions, and one incredibly impactful scene where Dith Pran discovers a mass grave. This movie is not for the faint of heart.
“The Killing Fields” is an amazing film. It captures the craft of creating a picture as well as telling an incredibly powerful story. While everyone should watch it once its content is so graphic, you won’t want to watch it again.
