What is interesting about the movie is that the Vietnam government thought that Pol Pot was too harsh and dangerous. They eventually went to war with Pol Pot because of his brutality and other reasons. Then Vietnam went to war with China. They thought China was brutal also. The history of Indochina is very interesting from WW2 up to now.
Haing S. Ngor (who played Dith Pran) actually survived the same atrocities shown in this film. Haing won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this, and it was his film debut as well (he was a doctor by profession, and he lost his wife and unborn child to the Khmer Rouge atrocities).
USA and China in the 80s in Cambodia. They proclaimed 'freedom, democracy, human rights' to the people of this country by supporting Pol Pot's seat at the United Nations and sponsoring, arming, training, and nurturing the remnants of the Khmer Rouge army stationed in the country. Thai land for 10 years, AFTER the genocidal massacres of the Khmer Rouge were brought to light!
He was also murdered by a Cambodian gang in California in the mid 90's when he was accosted in a parking garage and would not give up his locket with the picture of his wife. Rumors are this was a Khmer hit squad.
So sad that Dr. Haing S. Ngor who won the Oscar in his film debut for portraying Dith Pran and who himself survived the killing fields of Cambodia would meet his end in the killing fields of L.A. in the '90s at the hands of several members of an Asian street gang outside his home in Chinatown during a robbery when he wouldn't give up a locket containing a photo of his wife.
It's cambodian actually or you can say Khmer. Are you a French speaker? Cause Cambodia is Cambodge in French so I'm wondering if that's the reason you're using cambodgian.
You reacted to the movie I ve been waiting since day one when I subscribed to your channel Mary. I watched it in the theater in 1985, I was just 16 y.o. At 33 I was a humanitarian relief volunteer in the civil war in Angola. All the war scenes in this movie is 100% close to the real war situation that I was in. The landmines were the scariest because I could not walk outside walking path so I could step on one. This movies is the best I ve seen and I praise your effort for what you are doing Mary. You are brave, a beautiful person, deserve all the success in your life.
Good on you Mary for visiting the sites and also watching the movie, gives you an insight of our history and what my parents might've gone through. Hope this never ever happens again to anyone 🙏. 🇰🇭 🇳🇿
RIP Sydney Schanberg (January 17, 1934 - July 9, 2016), aged 82 RIP Haing S. Ngor (March 22, 1940 - February 25, 1996), aged 55 RIP Dith Pran (September 23, 1942 - March 30, 2008), aged 65 You will be remembered as legends.
True story films like this should be talked about more often because it demonstrates and shows how true it was how this happened and every time I watch a true story film it surprises me because I felt sorry for Cambodia because of this film. Good thing this was nominated for Best Picture
Horrible and overlooked time in history. My Dad was an Aussie RAAF pilot flying Red Cross missions at the time in his early 20s. Australia had a couple C-130s with just red crosses painted on them and the crews wore only the red cross on their flight suit. He'd never seen a dead body before but said after a week he'd seen a thousand. There is a lot more to what happened there to them but best kept quiet. The Khmer Rouge guaranteed their security but also took their watches, sunglasses etc. They'd be told by the Red Cross to fly to a strip next to a village and they'd land next to a pile of bodies and the Khmer Rouge would unload and take all the aid. Rinse and repeat the following day.
Hi Mary I’m one of them that was digging those dam in one part in the movies. The dam’s call Kom Pieng Poi Battambang province . Go check it out . Human digging this dam . A lot of life was lost there . Now I’m the state since 1981 . Back then I told people where I came from . They have no idea where Cambodia is . Now I’m so happy more foreigners know where Cambodia is and I’m happy that they learn more about us . Thank for sharing
This came out when I was in college. After a few months, it played at the college theater for the Friday night film. The usual rowdy crowd was there, and some noise was made in the first few minutes. After that, even the frat boys who were anticipating going to the bar afterward were dead silent. The only noise you heard was the sobbing at the appropriate moments. Some time later, Dith Pran spoke at the same theater. He was fascinating!
Rest in Peace to Haing S. Ngor (1940-1996) who portrayed Dith Pran in The Killing Fields (1984). Haing was murdered by three members of the 'Oriental Lazy Boyz'; a cambodian street gang who many speculated was ordered by Poi Pot through proxy. The motive to this day is considered speculative since there are no further evidence or testimony regarding the link between Haing's murder or Poi Pot's involvement in his murder. The three men were charged of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The offer of a cigarette - "voulez-vous un cigarette" - was a test, to see if he understood French, a language understood only by the higher Cambodian classes. Pran realized if he replied in any manner, then he'd reveal he had been formally educated. And that's a death sentence. He had to play the simple ignorant peasant to survive.
In the early 80s my church sponsored a family of refugees from Cambodia. The funny thing is is that while we were a church we were a small on only about 30 members. The refugee organization saw the word church and tried to send us everyone very related to the core family. We ended up with more refugees than church members. We housed them and got them on their feet and now they number in the 100s most live in two apartment complexes. It was amazing to get to know these incredible people and the horrors they went through
I feel like reactors avoid important, amazing movies like this because they don't think that it will get them many clicks. I hope this does to show others that everything they react to does not have to just be Hollywood blockbusters.
"The Deer Hunter" is a Strong movie, with a large part of it taking place in Vietnam, during the war. Very, very intense scenes. 'Extremely' good acting by young Robert de Niro and Christopher Walken.
@dioghaltasfoirneartach7258 It's ahistorical and the script doesn't make any sense if you think about it. The movie can't even decide the nationalities of the main characters just labeling them as "Slavic".
Thank you for reacting to this essential film and for contemplating its impact in the context of your travels. I saw this in cinemas upon initial release in '84 and was greatly moved, but it seems in danger of vanishing into the ether of forgotten films, especially if streaming platforms don't carry it (as you pointed out). As an older cinephile, this causes me despair at times. Yet I'm starting to believe that young reactors such as yourself have an important role to play in the continued appreciation of these films, even if they are not popular or mainstream favorites.
It's not as graphic or as lurid as SCHINDLER'S LIST or THE PIANIST or COME AND SEE. I think the lack of extremely graphic material and the emphasis on bureaucracy and procedural elements are what hurts its popularity.
Please watch First They Killed My Father. It's a great story about the killing fields and was directed by Angelina Jolie. You would love that movie. Might even make you cry
I would like to introduce another Khmer Rouge movie, "First They Kill My Father" directed by Angelina Jolie. This film is also a biography of Luong Ong since she was 5 years old.
There are a few different movies which show what happened during khmer Rouge. tbh as Cambodian, kill my father, wasn't the best movie. LOST LOVE is the saddest movie as well.
Oh man, I remember watching this movie in cinema. Recent history that rarely ever gets mentioned, in contrast to the Vietnam war or even Korea. The Khmer rouge basically sold most of the Cambodian rice harvest to Maoist China for military equipment, leading to wide spread famine in their own country. The Vietnamese (Communists themselves) later intervened and overthrew the Communist Khmer rouge regime. Which then led to a military conflict with China.
Haing S. Ngor's autobiography "Survival in the killing fields" is even better than this film, it's one of the most inspiring, yet devastating life stories ever written down on paper. I highly recommend everyone reads it.
I visited the museum and former cambodian prison S-21 some years ago. The woman who gave me a tour lost her husband and children in that same prison. I was later shown around the kiling fields by a young man who had several family members buried in gthe mass graves there. The rise of the Khmer Rouge was one of the worst attrocities in history. It was unimaginable.
Kudos for reacting to such an extraordinary film, I watched this back in about 1986 then it took me another 25 years before i could face it again, The realism in the acting and situation makes this a hard but compelling watch, the soundtrack i think by Mike Oldfield adds a disturbing presence. Films like this should be seen so maybe we can understand why we shouldn't make the same mistakes again. This was available on SBS not sure they still have it
I was eleven years old when this film came out in the theaters. My mother took me to see it because she said it was important that I learn and know about the horrors of war and cults of personality. We weren't Cambodian, but being from Taiwan we had family that escaped the Communists in China, as well as having survived the KMT purges afterwards. It was a wake-up call to my childish mind raised on Star Wars, GI-Joe, Thatcherism and Reaganomics, learning that there were no white-hat American cowboys, what a brutal affair war is, how jingoism and mob mentality can be destructive and spiral wildly out of anyone's control. Already inundated with the barrage of Cold War imagery of nuclear Armageddon, this helped shape me only a couple of years later into a teenager deeply distrustful of the power of propaganda, extremist ideology, authoritarianism ,and the delusion that is American exceptionalism. It doesn't matter if you're Left or Right, anytime someone appeals you to 'destroy the Other', to 'purge history', to incite violence against your neighbor because they 'don't believe', that party wants power from you, wants your approval and participation in promoting tyranny, despotism, violence and terror. Learn from history. Don't follow the mob.
29:26 in that scene, the boss is basically testing the Dith Pran whether or not he knows other languages that's why he spoke France to him. He protected his identity by saying he didn't understand what the boss said. As you know, the Khmer Rouge killed all intellectual people so if the boss knew he could speak France then he might get killed.
Anyone who spoke a foreign language was marked for death. Anyone with an education also. Everyone was forced into the countryside to become simple, obedient farmers. One of history's worst genocides.
I do so admire your interest in learning the truth of the historic films you react to. I taught in a school system where the community had accepted many of the Cambodians that had escaped the killing fields. They were brilliant hard working beautiful people. I remember going to the graduations and it was amazing how many graduated with honors.😊❤
I saw The Killing Fields in the theatre when it came out. The movie was a HUGE deal when it came out! Everyone was talking about it, everyone was blown away by it. It had full page Ads in the News paper. As an Aussie have you seen Gallipoli?
I remember ads in trade magazines in the late 70's that were CIA sponsored asking for donations for the Khmer Rouge guerillas to help buy boots, clothing and the like. Direct US government aid also trickled down to them. US relief organisations even supplied the Khmer Rouge with food and medicine after being pressured to do so. The US's main goal was to help anyone who would fight Vietnam intervention into Cambodia, and they feared, eventually Thailand. US Khmer Rouge support ramped up a bit more after Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979
It's been years since I've watched this movie. Yet my anxiety instantly went up as soon as you hit play. Not enough can be said about how important this movie was and hopefully still is.
I feel like no one ever talks about this movie but to me it’s just as important as films like Schlinder’s List or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Thank you for reacting to it
You need to watch S21 killing machine. It's a documentary film where 2 of the few survivors of Tuol Sleng interrogation center tell us about what happened there. They challenge the guards who were murdering 1000s there.
This is one of the films that made me question a lot of the history I was taught in the Southern U. S. in the 70's and 80's. Powerful piece of cinematography
My mom and dad survived this terrible nightmare but not my grandma and grandpa. They were starved and sick and the most tragic thing is that when my mom got up in the morning, my grandpa body didn't move anymore. He was gone when my mom was a small kid.
Thank you so much for visiting my country. 🙏 I’m really grateful for what you doing here. Thanks for interest in our sad history 🥹and share to the world. 🙏 I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy your time here in Cambodia.
Marry dear… end of war, we slowly walked trying to find our town, our family. I saw many skeletons leaning against trees, walking slowly, sitting against trees, against mounds, in shades… knees are bigger than the head when you get starved to the point of almost death, eyes staring at nothingness, decomposing bodies stench up the air around, and your clothes, if you had any on, would carry the stench on it for days… terrible things I’ve seen, I’ve lived through, terrible things humans can do to each other.😭😢
Good reaction. Don't think I've ever seen anybody else react to this on YT for all the reasons you described, I suspect. Thanks to you for being bold enough to jump into such a dark subject.
I always got tears with such kind of film, especially The Killing Field. Even I was a child of ten months behind the khmer Rouge down, but the living of the survivors from the genocide was very hard to be like today. I love my leader today, and I really love my Cambodia.
It's always difficult to lose some of our innocence like this but also extremely important if we are to have any hope of preventing such atrocities in the future. Tremendous amount of respect for you for actively seeking this out.
This is the last film my Dad ever watched, he didn't like it originally (Mom's DVD) he was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease in 2010, came in from work 1 day in 2014 he was watching this crying uncontrollably ( he'd stopped focusing on films and most other things a month before) he died a month later😢 Great reaction Mary 👏
I’m Khmer American live in United States of America I have been in Khmer Rouge regime 1975 to 1979 and my father has arrested by Khmer Rouge soldiers and killed him 1975 , after 1979 Vietnamese invasion in Cambodia then I left to Thailand border as refugee for years and came to USA 1980
Finally, someone react to movie that related to khmer rouge which is the darkest history of Cambodia😢. My parents and thier whole family and also every Cambodian in that generation have gone throw that time😢.
Millions of people in this world still unaware of the darkest and heaviest of Cambodian genocide history that was existed no that long ago and they need to get educated and by having someone like you make a content and talking about it , it does helps to bring this darkness shed it into light. Thank you very much. Love and peace ✌️
I was there in the middle of it, I was about 15 years old. It was hell on earth that’s all I could say. I lost a father, two brothers, and countless relatives.
Considering that nearly 1 in 4 of the entire Cambodian population died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, either directly or indirectly, is horrifying. You also need to realize that Beijing did have a hand in propping up the Pol Pot regime, that the PRC’s Cultural Revolution, was in part, an influence on the Pol Pot regime’s ideological policy that led to so many deaths. Also, props to Vietnam to stepping in and finally ending their neighbor’s genocidal regime.
Uh, so did the US, in fact voting for the Khmer Rouge to retain Cambodia's UN seat as late as 1993, when their atrocities were well known and established fact.
No matter how many time I rewatch this movie, it never fails to make me cry or at least sobbing. It traumatizes Cambodian people who survived from this gloomy era. Thank you so much for watching this, Mary. Love you 🙏🏻❤️
I remember seeing this movie when I was in college. I also remember the fragmentary news reports about the Cambodian genocide from 1975-1979. I hope you have many good memories of your trip.
I hadn't seen this movie in years. It popped up on Netflix for one month this summer. I really enjoyed seeing it again. There are some Cambodian films that cover this topic in much greater detail.
Read the book it's related to. It's one of the best books I have ever read. "A Cambodian Odyssey" by Haing Ngor that also played Dith Prahn in the movie. Sooo good and sooo heartbreaking.
I came in in the middle of the Premiere, so I'll come back when I can start at the beginning. I do want to hear your impressions. I remember, during the Vietnam War (actually a war in the whole of the former French Indo-China), Pol Pot once remarked disparagingly of the Americans that yellow people meant nothing to them. One might conclude, from his later actions, they they didn't mean anything to HIM, either. Even though he were one.
I learned about this in High School...a friend wrote a report after for, I think, Anthropology class; I included it in my website about 19th century wars.
After going through that horrific experiences at 7 years old and a lot of my siblings died from starvation. I don’t wish that to my worst enemy. May god Jehovah bless everyone on earth and help prevent that devastation anyone
Whenever you go travel to these places learn their tragic histories watch the movies they’re based on, do you ever feel grateful or appreciate that without your decision you’re born into a place that doesn’t have to go through tragedy on the daily? Idk how it is as an Aussie but for me as American born with Mexican parents I reflect on things I take for granted basic things like the ability to walk to the store and not see death everywhere.
One of the most impactful movies I've ever seen. I watched it in Paris while on a European tour with my future wife. The brutal genocide in Cambodia is almost forgotten, but this movie is a testament to the brutality humans are capable of, showcasing it from intensely personal experiences.
I saw this when it came out. Quite amazing that this was made less than ten years after the events at the beginning of the movie. You are to be commended on your interest and in your research. A tough subject to tackle and one that few react to.
I only watched this movie once. It was one of the most disturbing and sad things I’ve ever seen. Only rivaled by the Holocaust. But it was also very important to help me realize that there were some unbelievable events that happened that I barely knew about
Thank for your watching Killing Field where I also went through. This guy was a lucky guy compare to other as myself I was there for 4 full years. I thank God every day for my survival; I was supposed to be killer and starved to death many times. I lost my parents and 2 brothers in this nightmare. May God bless you
My mom told me they had to hide me in the bushes every time they heard an airplane fly over. I was only a baby. Lucky to have lived in America for 43 years. I'm going back to visit next year.
If you get a chance, check out Swimming to Cambodia. One of the actors in the Killing Fields did a spoken word performance of his experience making the film.
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I not Happy
What is interesting about the movie is that the Vietnam government thought that Pol Pot was too harsh and dangerous. They eventually went to war with Pol Pot because of his brutality and other reasons. Then Vietnam went to war with China. They thought China was brutal also. The history of Indochina is very interesting from WW2 up to now.
Haing S. Ngor (who played Dith Pran) actually survived the same atrocities shown in this film. Haing won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this, and it was his film debut as well (he was a doctor by profession, and he lost his wife and unborn child to the Khmer Rouge atrocities).
USA and China in the 80s in Cambodia. They proclaimed 'freedom, democracy, human rights' to the people of this country by supporting Pol Pot's seat at the United Nations and sponsoring, arming, training, and nurturing the remnants of the Khmer Rouge army stationed in the country. Thai land for 10 years, AFTER the genocidal massacres of the Khmer Rouge were brought to light!
He was also murdered by a Cambodian gang in California in the mid 90's when he was accosted in a parking garage and would not give up his locket with the picture of his wife. Rumors are this was a Khmer hit squad.
So sad that Dr. Haing S. Ngor who won the Oscar in his film debut for portraying Dith Pran and who himself survived the killing fields of Cambodia would meet his end in the killing fields of L.A. in the '90s at the hands of several members of an Asian street gang outside his home in Chinatown during a robbery when he wouldn't give up a locket containing a photo of his wife.
Then I got moved to London.
To my Dad and to my brother!
I was older brother!!!!
And he was my younger!
Damn, that was crazy
the Cambodian actor (Haing S. Ngor 1940-1996) came to the US to live his "American Dream" and was murdered in Los Angeles.
he was a doctor
American dream is a 🤥
Gotta get out of cities ran by liberals, they destroy everything.
It's cambodian actually or you can say Khmer. Are you a French speaker? Cause Cambodia is Cambodge in French so I'm wondering if that's the reason you're using cambodgian.
You reacted to the movie I ve been waiting since day one when I subscribed to your channel Mary. I watched it in the theater in 1985, I was just 16 y.o. At 33 I was a humanitarian relief volunteer in the civil war in Angola. All the war scenes in this movie is 100% close to the real war situation that I was in. The landmines were the scariest because I could not walk outside walking path so I could step on one. This movies is the best I ve seen and I praise your effort for what you are doing Mary. You are brave, a beautiful person, deserve all the success in your life.
Good on you Mary for visiting the sites and also watching the movie, gives you an insight of our history and what my parents might've gone through. Hope this never ever happens again to anyone 🙏. 🇰🇭 🇳🇿
RIP Sydney Schanberg (January 17, 1934 - July 9, 2016), aged 82
RIP Haing S. Ngor (March 22, 1940 - February 25, 1996), aged 55
RIP Dith Pran (September 23, 1942 - March 30, 2008), aged 65
You will be remembered as legends.
True story films like this should be talked about more often because it demonstrates and shows how true it was how this happened and every time I watch a true story film it surprises me because I felt sorry for Cambodia because of this film. Good thing this was nominated for Best Picture
RIP Julian Sands (1958-2023) as John Swain
Horrible and overlooked time in history. My Dad was an Aussie RAAF pilot flying Red Cross missions at the time in his early 20s. Australia had a couple C-130s with just red crosses painted on them and the crews wore only the red cross on their flight suit. He'd never seen a dead body before but said after a week he'd seen a thousand. There is a lot more to what happened there to them but best kept quiet. The Khmer Rouge guaranteed their security but also took their watches, sunglasses etc. They'd be told by the Red Cross to fly to a strip next to a village and they'd land next to a pile of bodies and the Khmer Rouge would unload and take all the aid. Rinse and repeat the following day.
Hi Mary I’m one of them that was digging those dam in one part in the movies. The dam’s call Kom Pieng Poi Battambang province . Go check it out . Human digging this dam . A lot of life was lost there . Now I’m the state since 1981 . Back then I told people where I came from . They have no idea where Cambodia is . Now I’m so happy more foreigners know where Cambodia is and I’m happy that they learn more about us . Thank for sharing
Thank you for coming to my country❤
Mary, thank you for watching this and bringing this movie and this history to the attention of your audience.
This came out when I was in college. After a few months, it played at the college theater for the Friday night film. The usual rowdy crowd was there, and some noise was made in the first few minutes. After that, even the frat boys who were anticipating going to the bar afterward were dead silent. The only noise you heard was the sobbing at the appropriate moments. Some time later, Dith Pran spoke at the same theater. He was fascinating!
Rest in Peace to Haing S. Ngor (1940-1996) who portrayed Dith Pran in The Killing Fields (1984).
Haing was murdered by three members of the 'Oriental Lazy Boyz'; a cambodian street gang who many speculated was ordered by Poi Pot through proxy.
The motive to this day is considered speculative since there are no further evidence or testimony regarding the link between Haing's murder or Poi Pot's involvement in his murder.
The three men were charged of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The offer of a cigarette - "voulez-vous un cigarette" - was a test, to see if he understood French, a language understood only by the higher Cambodian classes. Pran realized if he replied in any manner, then he'd reveal he had been formally educated. And that's a death sentence. He had to play the simple ignorant peasant to survive.
In the early 80s my church sponsored a family of refugees from Cambodia. The funny thing is is that while we were a church we were a small on only about 30 members. The refugee organization saw the word church and tried to send us everyone very related to the core family. We ended up with more refugees than church members.
We housed them and got them on their feet and now they number in the 100s most live in two apartment complexes.
It was amazing to get to know these incredible people and the horrors they went through
God bless y’all. That was heartwarming to read:)
That is good.
Imagine a first time acting and winning an Oscar awards... Dr. Haing Ngor was a legend
I feel like reactors avoid important, amazing movies like this because they don't think that it will get them many clicks. I hope this does to show others that everything they react to does not have to just be Hollywood blockbusters.
"The Deer Hunter" is a Strong movie, with a large part of it taking place in Vietnam, during the war. Very, very intense scenes.
'Extremely' good acting by young Robert de Niro and Christopher Walken.
@dioghaltasfoirneartach7258
It's ahistorical and the script doesn't make any sense if you think about it. The movie can't even decide the nationalities of the main characters just labeling them as "Slavic".
@romanpopyk It's quite clear what country the inhabitants of that town had their heritage from...
Incredible that you couldn't grasp that...
@@dioghaltasfoirneartach7258 and what country would that be?
@@romanpopyk You actually don't know?? 😲
Thank you for reacting to this essential film and for contemplating its impact in the context of your travels. I saw this in cinemas upon initial release in '84 and was greatly moved, but it seems in danger of vanishing into the ether of forgotten films, especially if streaming platforms don't carry it (as you pointed out). As an older cinephile, this causes me despair at times. Yet I'm starting to believe that young reactors such as yourself have an important role to play in the continued appreciation of these films, even if they are not popular or mainstream favorites.
It's not as graphic or as lurid as SCHINDLER'S LIST or THE PIANIST or COME AND SEE. I think the lack of extremely graphic material and the emphasis on bureaucracy and procedural elements are what hurts its popularity.
You may want to up your water intake, a litre a day is low even for more moderate temperatures
Wow. Such an important film to watch. I'm so glad to see someone finally react to this film.
Please watch First They Killed My Father. It's a great story about the killing fields and was directed by Angelina Jolie. You would love that movie. Might even make you cry
Haing S. Ngor won the Oscar and BAFTA for this One. Sadly he was murdered in 1996
I would like to introduce another Khmer Rouge movie, "First They Kill My Father" directed by Angelina Jolie. This film is also a biography of Luong Ong since she was 5 years old.
There are a few different movies which show what happened during khmer Rouge. tbh as Cambodian, kill my father, wasn't the best movie. LOST LOVE is the saddest movie as well.
Oh man, I remember watching this movie in cinema.
Recent history that rarely ever gets mentioned, in contrast to the Vietnam war or even Korea.
The Khmer rouge basically sold most of the Cambodian rice harvest to Maoist China for military equipment, leading to wide spread famine in their own country. The Vietnamese (Communists themselves) later intervened and overthrew the Communist Khmer rouge regime. Which then led to a military conflict with China.
Vietnam hated the Khmer Rouge and China. They still do.
Recommend you to watch “ first they kill my father “
It’s about the Khmer Rouge the same but new and emotional and the main character is a kid :v
One of the most emotional film endings ever made.
Haing S. Ngor's autobiography "Survival in the killing fields" is even better than this film, it's one of the most inspiring, yet devastating life stories ever written down on paper. I highly recommend everyone reads it.
I visited the museum and former cambodian prison S-21 some years ago. The woman who gave me a tour lost her husband and children in that same prison. I was later shown around the kiling fields by a young man who had several family members buried in gthe mass graves there. The rise of the Khmer Rouge was one of the worst attrocities in history. It was unimaginable.
A movie so powerful, I can only watch it every now and then. Absolutely beautiful, devastating and unforgettable.
Much better than the real life. I’ve seen so much…
I used to work in Vietnam Thailand and Cambodia 1997-2007. The killing fields and the civil War was so much part of life all around.
Kudos for reacting to such an extraordinary film, I watched this back in about 1986 then it took me another 25 years before i could face it again, The realism in the acting and situation makes this a hard but compelling watch, the soundtrack i think by Mike Oldfield adds a disturbing presence. Films like this should be seen so maybe we can understand why we shouldn't make the same mistakes again. This was available on SBS not sure they still have it
I was eleven years old when this film came out in the theaters. My mother took me to see it because she said it was important that I learn and know about the horrors of war and cults of personality. We weren't Cambodian, but being from Taiwan we had family that escaped the Communists in China, as well as having survived the KMT purges afterwards. It was a wake-up call to my childish mind raised on Star Wars, GI-Joe, Thatcherism and Reaganomics, learning that there were no white-hat American cowboys, what a brutal affair war is, how jingoism and mob mentality can be destructive and spiral wildly out of anyone's control. Already inundated with the barrage of Cold War imagery of nuclear Armageddon, this helped shape me only a couple of years later into a teenager deeply distrustful of the power of propaganda, extremist ideology, authoritarianism ,and the delusion that is American exceptionalism. It doesn't matter if you're Left or Right, anytime someone appeals you to 'destroy the Other', to 'purge history', to incite violence against your neighbor because they 'don't believe', that party wants power from you, wants your approval and participation in promoting tyranny, despotism, violence and terror. Learn from history. Don't follow the mob.
29:26 in that scene, the boss is basically testing the Dith Pran whether or not he knows other languages that's why he spoke France to him. He protected his identity by saying he didn't understand what the boss said. As you know, the Khmer Rouge killed all intellectual people so if the boss knew he could speak France then he might get killed.
Anyone who spoke a foreign language was marked for death. Anyone with an education also. Everyone was forced into the countryside to become simple, obedient farmers. One of history's worst genocides.
If you even wore glasses, it was enough to mark you for death.
Just having glasses could get you executed as glasses was considered sign of education.
About 2 million people, a quarter of the population.
@@brandonparisien2381 actually it’s more than 3 millions
@@heartless5739 actually 3 million and over is agreed upon that it's an exaggeration.
I’m Cambodian, every families lost their member…this such a saddest and darkness historical ever to my nation 😢
I do so admire your interest in learning the truth of the historic films you react to. I taught in a school system where the community had accepted many of the Cambodians that had escaped the killing fields. They were brilliant hard working beautiful people.
I remember going to the graduations and it was amazing how many graduated with honors.😊❤
Pran actually passed away in 2008 from cancer.
Haing S, Ngor's book "Survival in the Killing Fields" is such a grim read. It still haunts me.
Indeed. He was disappointed in the film for toning down the brutality
I saw The Killing Fields in the theatre when it came out. The movie was a HUGE deal when it came out! Everyone was talking about it, everyone was blown away by it. It had full page Ads in the News paper. As an Aussie have you seen Gallipoli?
I remember ads in trade magazines in the late 70's that were CIA sponsored asking for donations for the Khmer Rouge guerillas to help buy boots, clothing and the like. Direct US government aid also trickled down to them. US relief organisations even supplied the Khmer Rouge with food and medicine after being pressured to do so. The US's main goal was to help anyone who would fight Vietnam intervention into Cambodia, and they feared, eventually Thailand. US Khmer Rouge support ramped up a bit more after Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979
It's been years since I've watched this movie. Yet my anxiety instantly went up as soon as you hit play. Not enough can be said about how important this movie was and hopefully still is.
Thanks that u visited my Country. LOVE U
I feel like no one ever talks about this movie but to me it’s just as important as films like Schlinder’s List or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Thank you for reacting to it
America never taught it in school because they don’t want to let known they bombed innocent people.
Drinking the cow's blood was him just trying find any kind of nutrition and maybe some hydration to help his survival.
You need to watch S21 killing machine. It's a documentary film where 2 of the few survivors of Tuol Sleng interrogation center tell us about what happened there. They challenge the guards who were murdering 1000s there.
This is one of the films that made me question a lot of the history I was taught in the Southern U. S. in the 70's and 80's. Powerful piece of cinematography
Thank you for sharing, a lot of our older generations still struggle psychologically..
I'm your Cambodian fan and been watching your reaction videos since you did WandaVision. Thank you so much for sharing and visiting my country
My mom and dad survived this terrible nightmare but not my grandma and grandpa. They were starved and sick and the most tragic thing is that when my mom got up in the morning, my grandpa body didn't move anymore. He was gone when my mom was a small kid.
Finally, a Killing Fields movie reaction
Welcome to Cambodia Mary. Hope you enjoy it here. ❤❤🙏🙏
I live in those camps in my childhood. Thank you for reacting to the movie
An interesting side “movie” to watch is Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia
Thank you so much for visiting my country. 🙏 I’m really grateful for what you doing here. Thanks for interest in our sad history 🥹and share to the world. 🙏 I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy your time here in Cambodia.
First ever reaction to this film I've seen. You are great for sharing a part of history.
Marry dear… end of war, we slowly walked trying to find our town, our family. I saw many skeletons leaning against trees, walking slowly, sitting against trees, against mounds, in shades… knees are bigger than the head when you get starved to the point of almost death, eyes staring at nothingness, decomposing bodies stench up the air around, and your clothes, if you had any on, would carry the stench on it for days… terrible things I’ve seen, I’ve lived through, terrible things humans can do to each other.😭😢
oh yeah i am from Cambodia. can't believe you watch this i been watching your video for a long time . Thank you
Good reaction. Don't think I've ever seen anybody else react to this on YT for all the reasons you described, I suspect. Thanks to you for being bold enough to jump into such a dark subject.
I always got tears with such kind of film, especially The Killing Field. Even I was a child of ten months behind the khmer Rouge down, but the living of the survivors from the genocide was very hard to be like today. I love my leader today, and I really love my Cambodia.
You are one of very very few you tubers that actually watched this power film.
It's always difficult to lose some of our innocence like this but also extremely important if we are to have any hope of preventing such atrocities in the future. Tremendous amount of respect for you for actively seeking this out.
Am surpried u reacted to the film right at the heart of the country Lol
This is the last film my Dad ever watched, he didn't like it originally (Mom's DVD) he was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease in 2010, came in from work 1 day in 2014 he was watching this crying uncontrollably ( he'd stopped focusing on films and most other things a month before) he died a month later😢
Great reaction Mary 👏
I’m Khmer American live in United States of America I have been in Khmer Rouge regime 1975 to 1979 and my father has arrested by Khmer Rouge soldiers and killed him 1975 , after 1979 Vietnamese invasion in Cambodia then I left to Thailand border as refugee for years and came to USA 1980
Finally, someone react to movie that related to khmer rouge which is the darkest history of Cambodia😢. My parents and thier whole family and also every Cambodian in that generation have gone throw that time😢.
This was one of those hard movies that, while I am glad I saw it, I had no desire to ever watch it again.
Such a smart young lady interested in learning other history
Millions of people in this world still unaware of the darkest and heaviest of Cambodian genocide history that was existed no that long ago and they need to get educated and by having someone like you make a content and talking about it , it does helps to bring this darkness shed it into light. Thank you very much. Love and peace ✌️
Very good reaction to an extremely powerful movie. Congratulations for picking an important movie that none of the other reactors I follow have done.
Kudos for doing/watching this important film this way. Cheers and adventure on!
I was there in the middle of it, I was about 15 years old. It was hell on earth that’s all I could say. I lost a father, two brothers, and countless relatives.
I’m so sorry 😞
Thank Mary ❤
Considering that nearly 1 in 4 of the entire Cambodian population died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, either directly or indirectly, is horrifying.
You also need to realize that Beijing did have a hand in propping up the Pol Pot regime, that the PRC’s Cultural Revolution, was in part, an influence on the Pol Pot regime’s ideological policy that led to so many deaths.
Also, props to Vietnam to stepping in and finally ending their neighbor’s genocidal regime.
Uh, so did the US, in fact voting for the Khmer Rouge to retain Cambodia's UN seat as late as 1993, when their atrocities were well known and established fact.
@@robertcampbell8070 Margaret Thatcher bizarrely described Pol Pot as "the good kind of communist"
@@knell18897 Yes...in 1978. The West continued supporting the KR for another 15 years.
No matter how many time I rewatch this movie, it never fails to make me cry or at least sobbing. It traumatizes Cambodian people who survived from this gloomy era. Thank you so much for watching this, Mary. Love you 🙏🏻❤️
I remember seeing this movie when I was in college. I also remember the fragmentary news reports about the Cambodian genocide from 1975-1979. I hope you have many good memories of your trip.
I hadn't seen this movie in years. It popped up on Netflix for one month this summer. I really enjoyed seeing it again. There are some Cambodian films that cover this topic in much greater detail.
Been watching your reaction videos for a while. I’m Cambodian. Welcome to Cambodia, Mary.
Read the book it's related to. It's one of the best books I have ever read. "A Cambodian Odyssey" by Haing Ngor that also played Dith Prahn in the movie. Sooo good and sooo heartbreaking.
That's a fantastic film. I used to live in Phnom-Penh in 2016 - 2017... and I was there in June for my vacation. 😊
This is a tough movie to watch. Good on you for trying it. I hardly ever see anyone reacting to it.
I came in in the middle of the Premiere, so I'll come back when I can start at the beginning. I do want to hear your impressions.
I remember, during the Vietnam War (actually a war in the whole of the former French Indo-China), Pol Pot once remarked disparagingly of the Americans that yellow people meant nothing to them. One might conclude, from his later actions, they they didn't mean anything to HIM, either. Even though he were one.
Mary, you are brave to watch this film. Even though it is great, deep and revealing, this film is very painful and as such I can only watch it once.
I learned about this in High School...a friend wrote a report after for, I think, Anthropology class; I included it in my website about 19th century wars.
After going through that horrific experiences at 7 years old and a lot of my siblings died from starvation. I don’t wish that to my worst enemy. May god Jehovah bless everyone on earth and help prevent that devastation anyone
Thank you for reacting to this movie!
Whenever you go travel to these places learn their tragic histories watch the movies they’re based on, do you ever feel grateful or appreciate that without your decision you’re born into a place that doesn’t have to go through tragedy on the daily? Idk how it is as an Aussie but for me as American born with Mexican parents I reflect on things I take for granted basic things like the ability to walk to the store and not see death everywhere.
What happened during that time was way worse than this according to my grandparents... But luckily they survived and are still alive till now
Incredible Movie & Great Reaction Mary!
Appreciate you for learning some Cambodian history that my parents went through.
One of the most impactful movies I've ever seen. I watched it in Paris while on a European tour with my future wife. The brutal genocide in Cambodia is almost forgotten, but this movie is a testament to the brutality humans are capable of, showcasing it from intensely personal experiences.
Now that you've seen that, you definitely should watch "Swimming to Cambodia" - it's a fascinating movie by a fascinating man.
A cinematic masterpiece
I saw this when it came out. Quite amazing that this was made less than ten years after the events at the beginning of the movie. You are to be commended on your interest and in your research. A tough subject to tackle and one that few react to.
I only watched this movie once. It was one of the most disturbing and sad things I’ve ever seen. Only rivaled by the Holocaust. But it was also very important to help me realize that there were some unbelievable events that happened that I barely knew about
Thank for your watching Killing Field where I also went through. This guy was a lucky guy compare to other as myself I was there for 4 full years. I thank God every day for my survival; I was supposed to be killer and starved to death many times. I lost my parents and 2 brothers in this nightmare. May God bless you
John Malcovich's 3rd film. He played the photographer. I saw this in the theater on the big screen.
Thank you for visit Cambodia 🥲🙏
My mom told me they had to hide me in the bushes every time they heard an airplane fly over. I was only a baby. Lucky to have lived in America for 43 years. I'm going back to visit next year.
If you get a chance, check out Swimming to Cambodia. One of the actors in the Killing Fields did a spoken word performance of his experience making the film.