moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (02/13/85)
Looking back, I'm not quite sure why I went to see this movie. I tend to
divide movies into several categories, e.g. "Entertainment", "Sci-fi Techno
Observation". This one probably was planned as a "It will be good for you
film" -- a dose of history and drama down the gullet, hopefully without
lumps. I am always a bit leery of theses films; there is always a chance
that you'll get a turkey like "Betrayal" (the single most useless and
over-rated film I can remember). Also, I am not a gore person, and I heard
that THE KILLING FIELDS was that.
Several things to say after walking out:
1) This, of all the movies nominated for Best Picture, has to be my
favorite. It plays to both the emotions and the mind, which is something
most other films this year cannot boast. The emotions that are evoked are
raw: fear, love, anger. They are at their most basic level, which is not
surprising; this story deals with a civilization, a time and a country which
was (and is) far less safe and sanitized that the United States. It is not
an easy film to watch, but you will remember it for a long time, and with
respect -- I think it is impossible to look at this film with "affection",
because of the terrible things which it depicts, and which HAPPENED; one
hesitates to call it a "good" picture, as if all the events occurred for the
audiences' entertainment and edification. The men portrayed in this film
actually did all these things, and I'm not sure I've been able to comprehend
this yet. And their friendship rings truer than in any other film I have
seen in many a year... because it, too, existed (and, hopefully, exists),
and while we know at the end of the film that great brutality and evil
exists in the world, we also know that such a friendship can exist between
people of totally different backgrounds. I would like to call this an
"uplifting" movie, except that it brings to mind images of elderly
churchgoers coming out of the theatre sighing "Wasn't that *wonderful*?"
Suffice it to say that this is a very, very fine film.
2) Yes, the gore is used a great deal. And realistically. And I think
it is necessary, for fear is a necessary element of this movie.
3) I'm not sure how Dr. Haing S. Ngor got nominated for best SUPPORTING
actor... he is as much a main character as anyone else in this film. Oh,
well...
4) Any political statements this film has to make are left to the
viewer, I think. I got something out of it, but I imagine it is strictly my
vision and conclusion: That interfering with another society and country is
much more complex than good and evil, which is how we seem to treat our
activities in many places. Every action has a reaction, but it's not equal,
it's amplified; and the bombing of Cambodia reaped a whirlwind of titanic
proportions.
'Nuff Said. See it at any price.
"Honey, this is GREAT coffee."
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
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