The Killing Fields

We stumbled upon this movie while researching for Cambodia trip last year. We opted to stay in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia to visit the real gory site and museum. Until then I was totally ignorant of this genocide which wiped off 1/4 part of Cambodian population. The movies was released in 1984, winning three Academy awards. 

Based on true story of an American journalist, Sydney Schanberg of New York Times "The Life and Death of Dith Pran." Sydney was deployed in Phnom Penh in the early 70s to cover the civil war in Cambodia between Cambodian National Army and Khmer Rouge, a result of Vietnam war. Here he collaborates with Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist and interpreter who also works for New York Times. As Khmer Rouge (barbarians at their best) closes in, international embassies decide to evacuate their personnel and Dith sends off his family to USA, but stays back with Sydney. The situation gets worse as Khmer Rouge orders all the Cambodian citizens to be turned in. Sydney and others manage to flee, but Pran is unable due to his passport. 

Khmer Rouge ordered cities to be evacuated in an attempt create isolation. He is now caught in Pol Pot's "Year Zero" program. All educated people are killed including doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists. He fakes of being illiterate. He somehow manages to survive in the prison camp where he was starved and tortured. Eventually he escapes and reaches Red Cross Camp near the border of Thailand.

Sidney wins the Pultizer prize for his coverage of the Cambodian conflict, however, is accused by Rockoff (a friend who was there in Cambodia) of not doing enough to rescue Pran.

It is impossible not to be disturbed by the movie. Now overridden with guilt Sydney reaches the Red Cross Camp, reunites with Pran, and asks for forgiveness. And Pran's reply was "nothing to forgive Sydney" tells volume about the character. It depicts the darkest period of history where 2 million people were died due to starvation, brutality, torture, and pure hatred.

Pran's determination to overcome all odds and survive is a lesson to all human kind.  A scene where he make a small cut on a cow to drink blood is the most heart wrenching. Pran played by Dr. Haing Ngor is a surviver of Khmer Rouge is the perfect cast. His performance is brilliant and natural for a nonactor. It is sad to know he was shot dead in 1996 in Los Angeles. 

I have watched it after 31 years of its release and I say this is one of those timeless movies. It captures atrocities of Cambodian civil war, Khmer Rouge, and genocide distinctly. Despite this it tells the compassion and friendship grows even during the hardest time.

It is an intense journey of adventure and tragedy. And after seeing the real Killing Fields, I can vouch this film is well researched and superbly made. It stands testimonial to savagery of human race. Make time for it.