Well Made, But Not Particularly Informative

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2012)

Although The Killing Fields has a reputation as the definitive work on the Khmer Rouge genocide, it is actually a rather shallow treatment of the topic. It does not give much insight into the motivations of the Khmer Rouge or of its own characters for that matter.
The film follows journalist Sydney Schanberg and his Cambodian translator Dith Pran as they cover the fall of the Cambodian government. In his enthusiasm to cover the story, Schanberg decides to stay behind when the American Embassy evacuates. This results in Pran being stranded in Cambodia for the duration of the Khmer Rouge regime.
The film works best when it focuses on the personal drama between Schanberg and Dith Pran. Sam Waterston gives a good performance as Schanberg, making us empathize with the character even when he acts like a self-indulgent jerk. Haing S. Ngor is excellent as Pran, earning his Oscar with a moving performance.
However, the film does not give us any insight into the characters, particularly why Pran, who is clearly terrified, decides to stay behind with Schanberg. Their relationship, while compelling portrayed by the actors, is not explored in any depth, leading to unintentional homosexual overtones.
More gallingly, the film does not really give any insight into the Khmer Rouge or why they carried out their atrocities. With Nazis and other more familiar historical villains, viewers will generally have a good sense of their ideologies and motivations. This is not necessarily the case with the Khmer Rouge. We do not really get a sense of who the Khmer Rouge are targeting or why? This is a particularly glaring omission as many younger Americans are only familiar with the Cambodian genocide from this movie.
Furthermore, the film's general lack of on-screen violence results in a failure to convey the true horror of what took place. This flaw is acknowledged even by some involved in the film. As Haing Ngor reported in his autobiography, both he and Dith Pran thought the film's violence should be more graphic to convey the brutality of the Khmer Rouge.
If you want a true sense of who the Khmer Rouge were, see the documentary S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, which goes into far greater detail.