The Killing Fields

The Killing Fields are important, but The Killing Fields isn't.

A lumbering oaf of a picture, relying more on manufactured, contrived pathos than any genuine sense of humanity. Still, I would feel a vague sense of guilt if I rated it any lower.

There have been many acclaimed war films but it's still quite an accomplishment to shoot a picture that feels so immersive, frightening and authentic. The first half is packed with fast-paced, spellbinding chaos that seems as real as any war could be. Later on there's time to slow down and take a look at the politics behind the mess. The acting is fine, and the directing superb. I have no choice but to hail Joffé as a master auteur, worthy of deep study alongside Kubrick, Coppola or Stone.

The film doesn't try to turn the conflict into majestic art or cinematic poetry. The camera points at the action, captures the shock of sudden violence, the idleness of being stuck in one place, and the confusion in between. Joffe understands that the impact of the war will be felt just fine without embellishments, and his job is to probe into the worries of these journalists on the fringe of it, especially as they struggle to get a Cambodian colleague out of the country before things get worse.

The struggle of Schanberg and Pran allows Robinson and Joffe to approach the otherwise unimaginable scale of the "Year Zero" programme on a startlingly personal level: Pran's struggle to escape the camps and discovery of the "killing fields" makes moving viewing indeed. One can't help but feel, though, that Schanberg is by far the less likeable; the juxtaposition of his experiences and those of Pran is almost embarrassing.

Surprising, brilliant decision to microfocus on two people in the middle of one of the largest events in human history. A film deserving of respect b/c it pulls no punches showing the horrors of the Khmer Rouge while still keeping their humanity, pointing its finger in the right place (U.S.A.), and portraying the more subtle complexities of the Indochina conflict. Shit, it even has half the film spoken without translation. A great, minor masterpiece. "Imagine there's no countries."

it has a great story and message and good emotional graphics, BUT it is just so godamn boring, so the pros do not excuse this con, as films are meant to be entertainment and not a yawn fest

American journalist's Cambodian sidekick is sent to a labour camp, escapes, returns to America. That's everything that happens and could have been an hour shorter. Could have really popped emotionally with a better director, like Spielberg. Joffe's only other well-regarded movie is "The Mission", which I didn't like either. Also, I don't think the name "Pol Pot" is even mentioned once, so it fails as a history lesson.

The Killing Fields is a deeply moving film that takes a serious look at Pol Pot's Year Zero and manages to do so respectfully with surprising attention to detail.

I loved the structure; it starts out like Welcome to Sarajevo, with heroic white journalists running around trying to save the world, and then the situation devolves to an absurd degree, and it switches to a grim, compelling march for survival, almost devoid of English or translated dialogue. It's also visually ballsy, with some iconic magic-hour photography (the scene from the poster is stunning) and scenes with massive crowds of extras crammed into single frames. What happened to Roland Joffé

After a dry start, the stakes in THE KILLING FIELDS increase--and so do the film's strengths. Despite occasionally pedestrian handling, the power of the story--the rise and tyranny of the Khmer Rouge, against one man in particular--is not blunted. As that man, Dith Pran, Haing S. Ngor is full of life and vitality at first--and later with a quiet but absolute desire to survive; he won a deserved Oscar. Fine acting from all. Vivid realization of the horrors of Year 0, and a famously moving ending.

Despite the long running time, the relationship on screen between Schanberg and Pran never struck me as being strong enough to warrant the actions taken and words spoken by the two characters.

A tale of two movies. The first half is quite excellent but I felt it often dragged considerably once Waterson/Malkovich essentially exit the movie and it becomes almost entirely about Dith Pran's ordeal. Not to knock Ngor by any means, as his Oscar winning performance is fantastic, and mindblowing when you consider he was a non-actor at the time. The story is just slow at times as he spends most of it in captivity. A worthwhile film about an often underrepresented aspect of the Vietnam War.

This might not make a lot of sense, but this is the type of anti war movie I was hoping to get from The Deer Hunter. The Deer Hunter is so dated (and not in a cheesy fun way), and The Killing Fields is... the exact opposite. It feels super authentic and immersive. Chris Menges cinematography of Cambodia is so well done, and the casting is excellent. I really liked Sam Waterston in this. It's a shame he got stuck on Law & Order for so long. It's also fun seeing a young John Malkovich.

The best compliment I can give this film is that it feels effortless in its visual depiction the Cambodian genocide, dropping the viewer right into the middle of said event. Yes for all its authentic intentions, it carries little emotional resonance since - the manipulative use of music and sluggish 2nd half almost ruin the film - making you wonder if another director would've been a better fit for the job.

While it could be a little bit shorter and concise in some parts, overall it is a very visceral description of what happened in Kambodia. It feels like a documentary rather than a movie sometimes. At times the soundtrack just felt ill-fitting for the scenes and it doesn't carry well to the modern day. The character of Dith Pran comes out on top as being the most memorable one and the acting stands out here, contrasted against the kind of mediocre performances from rest of the cast.

Sprawling war saga rests on a pair of terrific performances from Waterston and Ngor whose individual character arcs sustain the two-part narrative. Joffe and Robinson tell their duelling narratives in a matter of fact, down the line way, making the side-swerves into thuddingly obvious sentiment all the more inexplicable (the "imagining" of the climax proper is particularly egregious). For all that, the harrowing and intimate depictions of war violence makes this an almost-perfect great film.

Lacks the tense action I need for something like this. Looks aiiit tho. I've got some thoughts about this era Cambodia but that's for a different time

Whilst looking a bit dated, both in terms of story telling and visually, nonetheless TKF is an almost perfect film. It has protaganists that are not perfect (unlikeable, guilt ridden) and, in the case of the KR chief, not all bad, and yet all are completely unjudged by a truly remarkable central character (all the more poignant for playing himself). This film always brings a tear as it shows just how FU'ed the world is, and yet, through it all, one persons humanity shines through like a beacon.

I think this is generally a very effective film with a great cast (John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelsom, Spalding Gray and Bill Paterson) that suffers a tiny bit from uneven pacing. It's decision to not provide a lot of context for the conflict is mostly correct, but it does mean that the talkier sequences are occasionally crashingly undramatic, while other sequences are very intense.

Joffe peaked with his first feature, though it's got its problems, chief among them being the awful score. The electronic filler music as total shit, and the use of "Imagine" bathetic. The quieter moments are the best, and there's a visual sweep that's compelling at times. Yes, it's a horrific chapter in modern history, but the scenes of brutality or too overheated to take seriously. Solid performances, although we never get a real sense of the deep bond between the two protagonists.

Dith Pran: "The wind whispers of fear and hate. The war has killed love. And those that confess to the Angka are punished, and no one dare ask where they go. Here, only the silent survive."

I like the structure of this as it moves from a focus on the Europeans to a focus on a single Cambodian, from words to silence. But the stuff with Waterston has aged badly, his guilt barely registering. To the degree this film works, it's based on the strength of its visuals and its rhythm.

Problems: hammy acting by Waterson, dated and distracting score, cliched plot points (particularly in the second act). However, the technical quality of the dramatisation more than makes up for it. It's well-shot, immersive, and feels real. If there was a documentary TV series on Cambodia made this well, I'd be in heaven. 7/10

The score is a bit all over the map, as is a lot of the acting (Malkovich is meh and Waterston is a bit much on the front end), but Ngor is rock-solid throughout, and whenever the film focuses on him, it is marvelous.

The Killing Fields tells its true story with a level of respectability and accuracy rarely seen in Hollywood, as Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor provide the film with an essential dose of humanity.

A

America, the greatest harbinger of hate, crime, death, brutality in the entire fucking world.

weak ass oscar-bait but holy shit @ john malkovich!

A very compelling depiction of many sides of life in Combodia during the Vietnam war. I especially liked how straightforward the combat scenes were made - it leaves a far greater emotional impact that way. Somewhat lacking in traditional story structure and character building.

Troverdig film satt til krigen i Kambodsja og det påfølgende diktaturet. Tar for seg forholdet mellom to menn, en amerikansk journalist og hans kambodsjanske tolk og medhjelper, som blir revet fra hverandre i det amerikanerne trekker seg ut av landet. Filmen gjør et modig og riktig valg i å fokusere på kambodsjaneren og det han får gjennomgå under Pol Pot, stort sett formidlet uten bruk av dialog. Mye bra musikk og en virkelig paranoid stemning gjør dette til en av de bedre krigsfilmene der ute.

Now you can go where the people are one, Now you can go where they get things done, What you need, my son... Is a holiday in Cambodia

kamboçya, kominizm, gazeteci, vietnma savasi, kizil kmerler, arkadaslik, fotograf banyosu, sahte pasaport, elçilik binasi (argo, hotel ruanda), beyin yikamak, kaçmak, katliam (Kizil kmerler kamboçyada darbe yapmadan orada bulunan amerikali bir gazeteci ve onun arkadasi kamboçyali gazetecinin hikayesini aktariyor.) AGIR ilerliyor.

Slow to get going. Too much time spent on Schanberg's unsympathetic character. Pran's part was excellent in comparison.

Rather underwhelming for a Best Picture nominee. Obviously, this was a huge part of Cambodian history, and I felt that this film just didn't do it justice. Sure it is a feel good story about a survivor, but the actual story encompasses so much more than that. I also didn't think that the acting was that strong; I was just grateful that Malkovich didn't have a big enough part to screw it up even more.

no interest

Powerful, honest and brutally realistic. This is the proper way to make war dramas.

Sentimental and uneven, "The Killing Fields" is nevertheless decent. Certain scenes showcase Joffé as a capable craftsman and his direction is solid overall. However, several factors hampered my enjoyment of the film: the relationship between the two protagonists never feels believable which limits any emotional impact while Waterston's journalist never becomes interesting. There are strong moments here (not including the hokey "Imagine" reunion) but I found it disappointing as a whole.

On one hand this movie is beautifully shot and the performances of Ngor and Malkovich are excellent, but on the other, the movie doesn't quite achieve what it sets out to do. The first act is very dragged out and the movie doesn't really kick off properly before an hour has passed. Some scenes are memorable and touching, but most feel pretty engineered which can probably be attributed to faulty directing. It is definitely worth a look, but nothing more than that.

Absolutely wonderful acting by Haing S. Ngor ruined by some very dodgy acting in this film by the rest of the cast. You get the impression some actors just didn't take it seriously. It's also apparent that Ngor's performance was such a contrast because it actually had heart. Instead of tightening up the production it seems a few actors were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Very flawed film that doesn't entirely live up to its reputation.

The general structure follows a well worn formula but it's still a gripping story that's very well acted.

Just a great movie about after the Vietnam war. A favorite.

Powerful film about a major historical event that too many Americans are ignorant of.

The last act is good, the rest, not so much.

My favourite movie of all time - heart wrenching drama made with real intelligence. Best movie music as well by Mike Oldfield

Beautifully filmed......a very moving cinematic experience. Highly recommended.

Cheesy. Dull direction. Generally terrible. Bruce Robinson should stick to cynical British comedies; Joffe should find a new profession.

good

Somewhat formulaic but gripping story.

Brilliant.