Review of The Killing Fields

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 2011)

The Killing Fields is a 1984 Roland Joffé film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. It is unquestionably a touching film that does not glamorize the war effort. The Cambodian and American protagonists, Dith Pran and Sydney Schanberg, are journalists who bond over finding the site where an American B-52 set off bombs. By April of 1975, the international embassies in Cambodia are evacuated and Pran's family leaves the country without him. Unfortunately, the state of the country only gets more gruesome and the Khmer Rouge soon order that all Cambodian citizen must be turned over from their refuge with remaining foreigners. Schanberg returns to New York City and wins a journalism award for his report of Cambodia while Pran is sent to labor under the new regime.
The perspective of The Killing Fields is unlike so many other films of its time because it paints a clear picture of the state of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. The grisly corpses and injured civilians are stomach churning, and they are especially outstanding considering the film was made in 1984. Haing S. Ngor's Oscar winning performance is as real as it gets. He survived the Cambodian civil war himself and his acting in the film is unrivaled.
As Emerson student, watching The Killing Fields opened my eyes to the importance of communication. It is crucial to share the truth when we live in a world where every message from the media can be manipulated. Without the medium of journalism, the world would of been blind to the atrocities going on in Cambodia. Therefore this film can teach students that it is crucial to use mass media to share the truth.