Brutal.

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2006)

The US invaded and bombed Cambodia in the early 70's in order to support their offensive in South Vietnam. When they realized that they couldn't possibly win they leave that country on its own, in the hands of the Red Jemers (a group of fanatics lead by the bloodthirsty Pol Pot). About 5 millions of Cambodians were murdered during the reign of the Jemers.
"The killing fields" approaches to those events relating the odyssey of Pran, a Cambodian journalist who worked for NY Times. He had quite a hard time trying to escape from his country. This is a very hard movie, so shocking and explicit (though reality was much more shocking than fiction). It is one of the best manifests against war ever filmed (along with "Johnny took his gun" and "Paths of glory"), a perfect portrait of the horrors of war and the consequences of human madness. At the same time it's a story that stresses the importance of friendship and loyalty, and the survival instinct. Everyone should see movies such as this, that way many people would change their point of view about certain historical events.
*My rate: 8/10