D'abord, ils ont tué mon père

With such a gut-wrenching subject matter of the Khmer Rouge regime and the memoir being such an emotionally complex read and going full throttle with the horror, 'First They Killed My Father' intrigued from the get go. Also wanted to see how actress Angelina Jolie fared as director, another reason for seeing the film.

Saw 'First They Killed My Father' on Neflix a while ago but, as one can tell, it took me a while to get round to reviewing it, due to music commitments, my "to watch and review" list getting longer constantly and also that it took a while to gather my thoughts on the film. Can see both sides of the argument of both like and dislike. 'First They Killed My Father' is a very admirable film with a lot of strengths and some very powerful moments, but the memoir and the actual events are much more harrowing.

'First They Killed My Father' is an incredibly well made film with some truly beautiful images, evocative production design and atmospheric scenery. Jolie directs more than competently, the visual style is spot on and she does a great job ensuring that the perspective doesn't get too biased or one-sided, like when Loung sees good in the enemy in the scene with the captured soldier. Telling the story through the eyes of a child was a brave choice and makes for a persuasive argument, this way prejudice and politics don't muddle or overshadow the story and the potential trap of being too innocent is thankfully strayed away from.

There are moments of great poignancy and power, not just the above scene but also the older sister's murder, the scolding and especially the walk through the blood-stained forest (the closest the film gets to capturing the full horror of what the regime was like). 'First They Killed My Father' is a thought-provoking film too and the message resonates and is still an important one.

Loung is a person one identifies with and roots for every step of the way, and Sareum Srey Moch's extraordinary and very touching performance is an enormous part of why.

On the other hand, while the restrained approach is laudable and somewhat appreciated rather than going the excessively graphic and potentially gratuitous route, 'First They Killed My Father' doesn't quite go full force dramatically and could have taken more risks. Not be as intrepid in showing the regime's full horrors, which were bloody so the graphic nature actually would have been a valid and necessary approach.

Can understand what the film was trying to do, but some genuinely powerful. harrowing and poignant scenes (especially the empathising of the captured soldier, the death of the sister, the scolding and the blood-stained forest) are not quite enough in a film that tends to treat the subject in a way that's too careful, muted and tame.

A tighter pace, less of the idyllic lingering shots and images (beautiful they are and some make an emotional impact, but not escaping the traps of self-indulgence, being distracting and not having much to them other than looking good) and more dialogue (which may have given the film more flow and cohesion) would have probably solved this.

In conclusion, good admirable film but could have been more. 7/10 Bethany Cox

In the 70's, a Cambodian middle-class girl sees the lives of her family and her turning upside-down when the Khmer Rouge invades the Cambodia. They leave their comfortable apartment and lifestyle to live in a primitive working camp. Her father, a former officer, is killed and the family splits to survive.

Angelina Jolie once again surprises with another great film about contemporary war and genocide directed by her. "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" shows the effect of the revolution promoted by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia through the eyes of an innocent seven year-old girl. Her family is separated and they fight to survive in a devastated country. The children have top-notch performances and Angelina Jolie succeeds in exploring the best from each one of them. The "happy ending" does not fit well to the storyline and maybe is the unique "but", probably imposed by producers. Even those that are not fans of Angelina Jolie with have to respect her work as director. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

This is a visually very interesting film as it uses lots of different styles of shots to tell the story - from almost POV to put you in the scene, to aerial views which distance yourself, but also are more aesthetic. The story itself is understated and shown rather than told, with a fairly minimal amount of dialogue. The story itself is tragic and fascinating, and as it is based on a true story, also horrifying. And whilst it bears comparison with The Killing fields, the fact that it shows how children were turned into soldiers and killers make it almost a counterpoint to that film.

Angelina Jolie proves her directing chops with this feature. It takes place in 1975 as the U.S. military was leaving Vietnam and Cambodia. The Kmer Rouge were taking over, millions of Cambodians were displaced and killed. The star is a little girl who is the screenwriter of the material based on her best selling book. The story is horrific, as the family moves from a comfortable middle class existence to one of deprivation and starvation. The kids are great and the horrors of war are shown with an accurate eye by Ms. Jolie. She is a major talent as both an actress and director. One of the best films of the year.

I watched it yesterday. The scene where she stood crying as the world was on fire sent me into the worst flashback in 54 years. I can't stop sobbing. I have never talked about the worst I had in Vietnam as a Combat Medic. I started to tell my wife about the time I picked up a 3 year old little girl who was just standing there crying. Her family had just been killed by an explosion. We were in a firefight with NVA soldiers. I grabbed her into my arms, and headed for a berm to protect her. I took a hit in my helmet as I ran with her. I just had a total breakdown in front of my wife. I sobbed uncontrollably. This film brought 54 years of keeping things inside me right to the surface. I have spent my whole life wondering what happened to her after the village women took her later when the fight was over. This film put me back to that day, that fight, with a vengeance from HELL. I have a daughter who is a Lt. With a very large Sheriffs Dept. A couple years ago she was the first Cop to enter an active school shooting in progress. As she entered the school carrying an M4, she took two rounds at close range from a shooter, they both went under her left arm. We protect children. You people who call me a baby killer are disgusting and should be ashamed to look in a mirror. Great job Angelina....