Review of The Killing Fields (1984) by Haley M — 26 Sep 2011

The Killing Fields is set during the civil war in Cambodia in the 1970's, and focuses on an American reporter for the New York Times, Sydney Schanberg, and his Cambodian guide, Dith Pran. The two men work very closely to report the tragedy occurring in Cambodia, and Schanberg later wins a journalism award for their work. Determined to report the truth, Schanberg and Pran stop at nothing in order to cover the violence in Cambodia that takes place between the Khmer Rouge (the communist party) and the government troops. After Pran sends the rest of his family to the United States with the evacuating American troops, he remains in Cambodia to help Schanberg. The Khmer Rouge arrests Pran and Schanberg, along with some of their colleagues. Being an American citizen, Schanberg is able to retreat back to the United States, but Pran is forced into working in the fields under the watchful eyes of the Khmer Rouge. Pran must partake in the re-education process, in which he needs to pretend he is not an intellectual and acts as though he does not know French or English in order to survive. Pran eventually escapes, and he partakes in an emotional reunion with Schanberg.

This film combines an emotional story with very powerful images. The desolation of Cambodia during that time period is expertly captured and portrayed in a way that connects the audience to the characters in the film. The scene that shows Pran walking through the field of decaying bodies is especially haunting.