TOP PICKS: Cambodian Movies
- Jon Elkins
- Jun 10, 2018
- 3 min read
Cool Cambodia presents our favourite movies and documentaries made in, or about, Cambodia.
FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER
Based on the book of the same name by Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father is a touching account of the hardships she faced when the Khmer Rouge seized power over Cambodia in 1975. As a 7 year old, Ung was forced to be trained as a child soldier, while her siblings were sent to labour camps and her country was torn apart.
This is the fourth movie to be directed by Angelina Jolie, who has a personal connection to Cambodia after adopting her son Maddox when she visited.
> Watch now on NetFlix
THE KILLING FIELDS
The winner of 3 Academy Awards, The Killing Fields was made in 1984 and based on the experiences of two journalists, when the Khmer Rouge occupied Cambodia. The film was a success at the box office and critically acclaimed. It centred on the story of Sydney Schanberg, a New York Times Journalist who reported on the civil war in Cambodia. Together with local representative Dith Pran, they witness the horrors first hand and told the world what had taken place.
The Killing Fields is an emotionally charged film that captures the realistic detail and inexplicable loss in a time when Cambodia was on its knees.
> Available on iTunes
> Available at Amazon
THE MISSING PICTURE
Winning awards at the Cairns Film Festival and other prestigious events, The Missing Picture is a French / Khmer film made in 2013.
Considered a brilliant documentary masterpiece, The Missing Picture is the story of Rithy Panh who was 13 years old at the time the Khmer Rouge seized the capital Phnom Penh. By the end of the war, most of his family had been killed and this is the moving story of how he managed to cling to life, while millions around him were dying. Decades later, Rithy is now a filmmaker and The Missing Picture is his message to the world.
> Available on iTunes
> Available at Amazon
DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN
CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL
There is a saying in Cambodia, which is “Music is the soul of a nation.” Through the popular music of the50 s, 60s and 70s, we see the unraveling of Cambodia’s past, which resulted in the destruction of society.
The new Cambodia that the Khmer Rouge wanted was going to be a revolutionary country and not contaminated by the west. When they first gained power they targeted the musicians, artists and scholars, because they were thought to have influence over people and many of them were eliminated.
Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll uses never before seen footage combined with interviews from the surviving Cambodian musicians themselves. This documentary shows the blossoming of rock and roll, which was almost destroyed as a result of war.
> Available on iTunes
A RIVER CHANGES COURSE
Described as a beautiful documentary and presented at the Sundance Film Festival, A River Changes Course portrays a profound new take on life in Cambodia and the struggles of today.
Award winning filmmaker Kalyanee Mam in her directing debut, returns to her native homeland of Cambodia. Here she follows the stories of three girls, who all lead different lives and are trying to resist the progress of the modern world. Once, life was much simpler and people could live off the land, but demands are now becoming much greater.
In this beautifully filmed narrative, A River Changes Course shows their individual struggles from the villages to the city – and the dreams of its people today.
> Available on iTunes
WISH YOU WERE HERE
Joel Edgerton stars as Dave Flannery, who goes to Cambodia on holiday with his pregnant wife Alice, her younger sister Steph and new boyfriend Jeremy. They want a holiday to remember in Asia, where it would be nothing but sun, relaxing and a bit of fun.
After a night of partying, Jeremy goes missing without a trace and they need to find out why. Dragged into a web of lies, the betrayal and suspense is about to unravel.
Released in 2012, Wish You Were Here was directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith, who also directed Wolf Creek (2016) and Animal Kingdom (2010).
> Available on iTunes
> Available at Amazon
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