Skip to main content

My Experiences with Roland Joffe's 'The Killing Fields' - Part 2

Continuing with the second part of story about 'The Killing Fields', Dr. Haing S. Ngor who essayed the role of The New York Times Photojournalist Dith Pran was a renowned gynaecologist in Cambodia. Khmer Rouge, in the wake of Vietnam War, initiated an opertaion called 'Year Zero' that targeted the intellectual banishment and slavery in Democratic Kampuchea. Dr. Ngor had to hid his identity as a Doctor and instead act as an uneducated taxi driver in order to save his own as well as his wife's life. Her wife died because of pregnancy related complications in one of the labor camps. She needed a ceasarian operation for giving birth to their first child but Dr. Ngor could not give up his real identity in order to achieve the parenthood. He feared the death of all three if Khmer Rouge found about his actual identity. Little did he know that consequences to follow will lead to an inevitable death to his wife anyway. He decided at that very moment that he had to continue living on for his wife and motherland's sake and when presented with a suitable opportunity, bring forward the reality of the oppressive regime of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The result of this determination and relentless pursuit of a life of freedom paved way for the project known as 'The Killing Fields'.

The Killing Fields won 8 BAFTA awards and 3 Oscars. Dr. Ngor became the second non-actor and first Asian actor to win the elusive Oscars under the best supporting roles category for Male. He established a legacy and finally fulfilled his promise to his wife and motherland.
Vietnam War had earlier provided the motion pictures aficianados with two exceptional masterpieces; Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. Former is an epic and the later a drama. Former stars Marlon Brando and later Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. The Killing Fields stars Sam Waterston and Dr. Ngor, first a very good actor and second a non-actor and a first-timer. And still this movie has created a niche for itself. Why does it rank so high in Critics' and Moviegoer's list is anybody's guess. Its cinematography and production design is groundbreaking but apart from those technical nous, it lets us know that despite the danger of encountering death on any given moment, some individuals still manage to defy the odds and rekindle the spirit of endurance in human beings through their actions.......Mr. Dith Pran and Dr. Haign S. Ngor, ladies and gentlemen, were two such individuals.................‪#‎Legends‬.........‪#‎UnadulteratedRespect‬.............‪#‎TheKillingFields‬

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

P.S. Hoffman & Joaquin Phoenix: The Master

My infatuation with the movies is well known but my involvement with the actors and their characters is even more heartwarming. There are innumerable movies that I saw simply because they featured my favorite actors, however they themselves were not great. Examples could be infinite, however for the sake of this article I'll have to produce something here. Anger Management for Jack Nicholson (boy, isn't he a legend?), Swing Vote for Kevin Costner, Snatch for Brad Pitt, Legends of the Fall (Brad Pitt), Leon: The Professional, Immortal Beloved, Bram Stroker's Dracula, State of Grace & Prick up your ears; all for Gary Oldman (mind you, he is a chameleon). Meanwhile, I started accumulating some of the finest performances by some of the legendary actors of all time. Very recently, as anyone who follows me regularly knows, I grew very much fond of the craft and artistry of Daniel Day-Lewis. He is a fine, fine actor whose study and impersonation of a character is often pictur...

A Monumental 30-years Wait for Premier League Title is Finally Over for Liverpool

Finally, yeah finally. Liverpool, my beloved lads in Reds conquered the England. 30 years. It's been a long wait but this title run was worth the wait..... From the bottlers of 2013-14 to the one point loser of 2018-19, to the Champions of 2019-20; it's been a remarkable story I am chasing after since 2004-05 and I have seem many come and go but Liverpool's RED stuck to me and Jurgen Klopp's mentality monsters just bulldozed their way through the English Premiere League title after 30 years in such a way that it seemed it was never ever far away from our grasp. Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur; look away now, guys.....this moment is ours to savour. There was a time when you laughed at us thinking how in hell Liverpool became 18 times champions of English Football bit this sweet 19th will remind you for a long, long time how we became 18-time English Champions at the first place. A huge shout-out to my man, Steven Ge...

Book Review: Unanswered

'Unanswered' is a book penned by Mr. Kunal Uniyal and it's his third book. I am calling it a book, using a common noun to describe it and I have a good enough reason for doing so. It's a book that consists off both poems and prose and I was in real dilemma picturing its prognosis in my mind. It started with a poem named 'You and I' and beautiful it was, all poised and lyrical. And then came a snippet of a prose by the name 'Life of a Yogi'. They were really not connected and I was perplexed. Then I allowed myself some comfort and decided to dig up some more. Some more beautiful poems and accompanying yet again not quite related passages of prose followed but now they looked more in shape and very much in order. Now I was beginning to realize that there was more to this book than met my eyes earlier and it's scope is much wider that what I originally thought. You are required to engage yourself with this book and once you do that, you will know you ar...