Powerful, Important Film

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2006)

I've finally seen The Killing Fields, more than 20 years after it was originally released.
This is one of the most powerful, important films ever made. It is so important, now as ever, for everyone to understand what evil truly is. This movie shows evil in its worst form: the form of mass murder thinly disguised as ideological cleansing.
What makes this film so special is not only the bare-faced method of its delivery (including some horrid shots of the dumping grounds of the murdered), but the way the film keeps a decidedly Southeast Asian feel. The filmmakers worked to keep that style, in the scenery, the music, the set design, and, most importantly, by keeping the Cambodian journalist front-and-center in most scenes. In fact, the only time the film doesn't work is when it focuses on the New York Times reporter (the main reason I give this film a 9 instead of a 10 are the pace-stealing scenes stateside). Far too often we only see such stories from our own viewpoint, it's incredibly refreshing (and bold) to film a story like this from the viewpoint of the foreign country whose ruin was precipitated by the careless policies of our own government.
Wonderfully filmed, well acted, brilliantly scripted, The Killing Fields is a timeless, important classic. A must see for any student of history or film.
9 out of 10 Barky