The Killing Fields (1984)
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A journalist and a photographer become separated during the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, leading to a harrowing struggle for survival.
The story
In 1973, New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg arrives in Phnom Penh to cover the civil war between the Cambodian national army and the communist Khmer Rouge. Schanberg is joined by photographer Al Rockoff and Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist and interpreter. The pair travel to Neak Leung to investigate an alleged bombing. They are detained while attempting to photograph the execution of two Khmer Rouge operatives. Two years later, as the Khmer Rouge move into the capital, Schanberg and Rockoff are arrested. Pran, a Cambodian civilian, manages to negotiate their release, but he is left behind as the situation becomes increasingly dire under the new totalitarian regime.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1973, New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg, photographer Al Rockoff, and Cambodian journalist Dith Pran travel to Neak Leung to cover the civil war. After being detained, Schanberg and Rockoff are later separated from Pran when the Khmer Rouge takes over Phnom Penh. While the Americans are briefly detained and released, Pran is left behind. Months later, Schanberg campaigns to find Pran while Pran survives as a forced laborer under the Khmer Rouge's 'Year Zero' policy. Pran feigns simple-mindedness to avoid being targeted as an intellectual. He eventually escapes into the jungle and is found by another group of Khmer Rouge. In 1976, Schanberg receives an award for his coverage and acknowledges Pran's role. Meanwhile, Pran lives in a village, hiding his education from a man named Phat. During a border war, Pran discovers a map and money belonging to Phat. After Phat is killed, Pran escapes into the jungle with a few others. After a tragic accident in the jungle, Pran reaches a Red Cross camp near the Thai border, where he is finally reunited with Schanberg.
- First release year
- 1984
- Runtime (minutes)
- 141
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English; French; Khmer
- Directors
- Roland Joffé
- Writers
- Bruce Robinson · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Sam Waterston · Schanberg; Haing S. Ngor · Pran; John Malkovich · Al Rockoff
- Genres
- biographical drama; war drama; historical drama
- Themes
- human connection; survival; friendship; political oppression
- Tone and mood
- serious; tense; poignant
- Premise and plot tags
- based on true events; war; journalism
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Death and Life of Dith Pran: A Story of Cambodia by Sydney Schanberg
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film was a success at the box office and an instant hit with critics, described as a masterpiece of cinema and a career-defining triumph for Roland Joffé.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 91% · scale: percentage · review count: 45; Metacritic · score: 76 · scale: 100 · review count: 18
- Awards and nominations
- BAFTA · Best Film · win; BAFTA · Best Actor in a Leading Role · win
- Production trivia
- Haing S. Ngor was a non-professional actor and a former doctor who had no previous acting experience.; The film was voted the 100th-greatest British film of the 20th century by the British Film Institute.; The film was the most-attended film in Seoul in the 1980s.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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