Review of The Killing Fields (1984) by Christine R — 27 Dec 2011
The Killing Fields remains one of my all-time favourite anti-war films, and it's not hard to see why. I think that the greatest strength in this classic lay in Haing S. Ngor's award-winning performance as Dith Pran.
Ngor himself was a Khmer Rouge victim, and reading a Readers' Digest condensed feature written by him, detailing his harrowing experiences during Cambodia's grim years, I realized that it would have been a pity had he NOT portrayed Pran in this.
Sam Waterston, John Malkovich, and Julian Sands, among the others in its cast, were superb and brilliantly evocative. This great odyssey of the human spirit kind of reminded me of Doctor Zhivago, but of course with one difference - unlike Doctor Zhivago, The Killing Fields had no hinted or explicit scenes of romantic melodrama.
What it showed throughout its entirety was pure cinematic enigma, exposing the horrors and brutality of war and communism to a wholly convincing level. It really was an enjoyable film, and I think that all those opposed to war in general should watch it.
This review of The Killing Fields (1984) was written by Christine R on 27 Dec 2011.
The Killing Fields has generally received very positive reviews.
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