First They Killed My Father

I only like realistic movies and this is as real as it gets. Incredible acting and directing. I'm still amazed at how they get six year olds to act so authentically. If you like historically accurate movies, this one's for you. If anything, they downplayed the brutality of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

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.

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

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.

First of all, I think the way Jolie directed this movie is beautiful and real. Words couldn't describe how appreciated I am for her to put this bitter history of Cambodia on screen.

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.)