| THE KILLING FIELDS (Region 2, subtitles in Japanese and English)  Cambodia, August 1973. Sydney Schanberg, a correspondent of N.Y. Times, covers bombing by B52 in the city Neak Luong together with his guide/interpreter Dith Pran. In 1975 The fighting between Khmer Rouge guerillas and Government Troop is getting worse, the invation by Khmer Rouge to Phnon Penh is soon. After considering and discussing with his wife, Pran decides to stay with Sydney. Americans and people related come to American Embassy to leave the country, Pran's family being on the list by Sydney get on a helicopter of US military. Khmer Rouge finally comes to Phnon Penh. People are welcoming them. The fighting seems to be over. Sydney and his fellows visit a hospital and see many wounded people and medical staffs. When they leave the hospital, Khmer Rouge captures them. Pran begs the guerillas, and they get free. Sydney and the guys run into French Embassy. Khmer Rouge take officers and their family out of the Embassy, other Cambodian people have to leave there as well. The Embassy check all the passports. Sydney's fellow brings an idea, to change the photo on valid passport of an Englishman to Pran's. They find a film and materials, take photos of Pran, and put a photo of him on the passport. But when the officer of the Embassy checks the passport, the photo completely turned black. Pran leaves the Embassy. Sydney and fellows go back to their country. Sydney send letters with Pran's photo to look for him, and he meets Pran's family in N.Y. Khmer Rouge captured Pran, and he is forced to work hard like other civilians. If Khmer Rouge find people like doctors, teachers, reporters, they are killed. Pran pretends to be innocent. When Pran sucks blood of cows to survive, Khmer Rouge finds and tortures him, but doesn't kill him, a Khmer Rouge guerilla who used to be a boy soldier lets him go. After planting rice seedlings Pran decides to run away. Crawling in the muddy water, running in the jungle, walking at the waterside, he sees so many dead bodies and bones. Sydney wins a Pulitzer Prize. At the ceremony he criticizes American government, he regrets again that he kept Pran in Cambodia. Another Khmer Rouge guerillas finds Pran who went to sleep, he starts taking care of a leading member and his son. When he tries to listen to radio, the leading member finds it and gets to know Pran speaks foreign languages. The leading member speaks English as well and wants Pran to take his son. The leading member is killed, Pran gets a map to escape, he runs away together with the little boy and his fellows. In the jungle they divide into 2 groups. Pran's fellow strikes a mine, he dies and the little boy on his back is dying. Pran cremates the boy, he climbs mountain by himself and finally finds the Red Cross camp in Thailand. His escape is done. Sydney gets the good news, at the camp he and Pran finally meet again, they hug each other..... |
Both Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran are real persons, the state of affairs in Cambodia in this movie is based on facts. But there's a question if "friendship" between Sydney and Pran would be the same as what this movie describes like, Bruce who met and had an interview with the guys says "Certainly that friendship didn't exist before the invasion of Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge." in "SMOKING IN BED" (by Alistair Owen). Bruce says "With THE KILLING FIELDS, ninety per cent of what I learned about the subject obviously wasn't on screen, but you did need to know it to write the thing." (from "SMOKING IN BED") A movie is just a movie after all. The DVD (2 discs) which DEX ENTERTAINMENT releases in Japan doesn't have English subtitles, it's quite a pity. We need them with a movie like this. |