Paper for Comm. Media. Society

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 2011)

Sean Cambodian Civil War Sept. 26, 2011 1-1-1-1
The "killing fields" written by Bruce Robinson is a movie that shows details of the civil war in Cambodia. The main character Sydney is a reporter who is out in Cambodia covering the war. Sydney's close friend and translator Dith helps Sydney out of several dangerous situations. They are either in a peaceful embassy or held captive by the Cambodian army. Sydney escapes by switching a French passport while Dith's passport picture turns gray and has no choice but to be turned over to the Cambodian army. Dith ends up in a concentration camp run by child soldiers while Sydney is winning an award for his literary works for his time in Cambodia. Dith eventually escapes with the help of one of the camp leaders he meets during his first escape. With a map and money secretly given to him, he escapes to a hospital camp where he is rescued by Sydney.
The quality of the film was extremely poor. A lot of the time the movie was in a different language without subtitles. This movie was about history and started off with no background of what was going on. I understood it was a war in Cambodia but I thought it was between Cambodia and the United States by how the beginning of the movie interpreted things. The main characters were in danger one second than randomly they were in a peaceful embassy. How could one go from about to being killed to a peaceful serene environment? The use of animals during this film seemed to be very cruel, I don't know if it was a special effect when the cow was cut open on its neck but it seemed to be real. Also the faux bombing and intentional startling of animals seemed to be unnecessary.
I think this movie is not an accurate depiction of the Cambodian civil war, with that said I cannot say it is important for an Emerson student to see this film. The movie is sad and what happened during that period is horrible. History is a very important thing to learn so it is important for an Emerson student to know what happened during this time. However this movie on the other hand is not an appropriate way for them to learn about this event.
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