Review of The Killing Fields (1984) by Rainer K — 19 Dec 2011
The Killing Fields is one of the rare films that take a step back and let the pictures speak for themselves - I usually like that and whouldn't mind the slow (very slow to be exact) pacing either. The pictures are just not powerful enough for a good deal of the time.
It has some beautiful landscape and longshots reminiscent of great Vietnam war movies but it felt a bit like a mashup of dying children and the pain of Haing Ngor rather than a coherent plot.
I haven't found it very engaging all in all. I'm not quite sure but I think it's because of the way it's shot/made/done. It aged pretty bad in my opinion - not the subject or the looks but the narrative techniques.
Also, didn't care much about what was going on - Ngor's fate was the only halfway compelling thing in the whole movie for me and the stronger second half with the focus on him saves The Killing Fields a 60% rating.
PS: Did Malkovich ever look young?
This review of The Killing Fields (1984) was written by Rainer K on 19 Dec 2011.
The Killing Fields has generally received very positive reviews.
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