Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 9 wins & 29 nominations total
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBased on the deadly rule of the Khmer Rouge, a communist inspired movement led by the dictator Pol Pot, under which an estimated 25% of the Cambodian population died from malnutrition, forced labour and mass murder from 1975 until 1979. This historical event is today known as the Cambodian genocide.
- GoofsFrom 1975 to 1979, people had only skin cover their bone due to heavily overwork and starvation. Most of the scenes from movie show people still healthy with no lack of food or nutrient.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Richard Nixon: [on broadcast TV] Cambodia, a small country of 7 million people, has been a neutral nation since the Geneva agreement of 1954. American policy since then has been to scrupulously respect the neutrality of the Cambodian people.
British Reporter: [standing with troops] The Vietnamese armies on the south side of the river appear to be indifferent to the contest.
Cambodian Politician: Under the pretext that there is a war necessity, they come into Cambodia.
Field Reporter: Are you glad to be in Cambodia?
Soldier: Negative. No.
Radio Reporter: The principle casualties appear to be innocent Cambodians.
Henry Kissinger: [at podium] ... the occasional difficulties in reaching a final solution.
Richard Nixon: What we are doing is to help the Cambodians help themselves. This is *not* an invasion of Cambodia.
French Reporter: The Nixon Doctrine for Southeast Asia appears to have failed. The war that began in Vietnam has now engulfed Cambodia. There is anger and frustration at the US bombings. Thousands of lives lost. Farms and livelihoods destroyed.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 75th Golden Globe Awards (2018)
The only thing that kept bugging my mind is that I didn't feel the sympathy and frights as much as I supposed to do. There were so many times where I felt like the book could be way far better than the action movie (despite the fact that, I haven't even read the book). The movie ravels the story from the perspective of a kid so it is very understandable that there was very few dialog and there could be lots of time where you feel like---blank, nothing. There were times where the girl found herself in the middle of chaos, unable to process whats going on---and while watching such scenes, I could imagine myself intriguing to her thoughts in the book instead. What I mean is, the movie is without doubt, a masterpiece, but I don't think it is the best choice to tell this traumatic event through a kid perspective. Tho I think movie like this need to be produced, I can't deny that there are more cons than the pros for letting adults hear the story of a war from a kid.
However, That was the only problem with the movie and it clearly deserves a watch. Especially for those who have known basic history of this event, I think you're going to enjoy it very much. I would definitely watch it all over again any day. (Please excuse all the written mistakes as English is not my native language.)
- tharithbtr
- Sep 12, 2017
- Permalink
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $24,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 16 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1