The Killing Fields Review

Alex Lynn
Sept. 29, 2011
The Killing Fields
1-1-1-1

The Killing Fields describes an era in the mid to late 1970s of unwarranted war in Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge regime. Thousands were ruthlessly murdered in various forms including shootings, lashings, and suffocation. Journalists in America tried their hardest to inform the American public via news stories and photographs but much was delayed and disguised by the government. Sydney Schanberg and Dith Pran teamed up in Cambodia together to deliver the truth as quickly as possible. Most fled the country but they both chose to risk their lives to tell the story of these innocent victims hoping to inspire citizens around the world to become aware of global issues.
As a film, The Killing Fields, proved to be extremely graphic yet true in conveying the horrors that cambodians faced. The length of the film seemed long; however, this was needed to correctly depict the full extent of the tragedy. It is also interesting that Pran was played by a real-life survivor of the war; the actors were well cast. To point out some flaws, the scenes were choppy and didn’t transition well from one to the next. Music choices were not always fitting for particular scenes. Lastly, details were left unattended. As an example, when the regime loaded the journalists into a truck they forcefully took their watches. In later scenes, the journalists’ watches were seen on their wrists as if never stolen. Overall, The Killing Fields, while flawed, is a great film of substance representing not only Cambodia but various injustices in our world that need to be corrected.
Emersonians are a collective group of communication students. As such, we all should be aware of our everyday local, national, and global issues and share them with those left in the dark. Unfortunately, this story of war was censored to the public and went against our first amendment right to freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to assemble. Such rights are vital to our nation’s reputation for freedom. Especially as Emerson College students, we need to exercise and protect the first amendment, not only for our nation’s security but for other nation’s needs as well.