Movie Review: The Killing Fields

Every now and then, between watching whole seasons of various television shows on DVD, I'll place a highly-rated old movie on my Netflix list. The most recent movie to arrive was The Killing Fields filmed in 1984. It tells the story of a New York Times reporter who, with his native guide, thumbs his nose at the evacuation of American troops from Cambodia in 1975 and remains behind to document the conflict. Dreams of glory swiftly turn to just trying to survive as the Khmer Rouge take over and mass slaughter Cambodians. Just when they have hope that the new regime will let them go, complications arise regarding the fate of the native guide who is not permitted to leave with the journalists. Following is the story of Dith Prahn's (sp?) survival in labor camps and Mr. New York Times' efforts to find his friend and get him to safety. At a little over 2 hours in duration, I was surprised how easily the story kept my attention. I wasn't once bored and am very glad that I opted to keep that one on my list.

I won't reveal the endings, but I will say this. The Khmer Rouge taught their children to kill by suffocating prisoners with blue plastic bags over their heads. I was sufficiently grossed out when Dith stumbled into a trench of skeletons and decomposing bodies accompanied by a very large number of blue plastic bags. Yuck! Hardly surprising but rather shocking when you consider it was the children who killed with that method.

Yes, the film was bloody, but Hotel Rwanda was worse. Both are excellent dramas and are worth watching.