Per primo hanno ucciso mio padre

What happens when all the norms of civilization implode. Filmed from the perspective of that of a child, superbly played by, first time actress Sareum Srey Moch who puts in a stunning performance. Perhaps we as adults forget the skills we had as children, like "Let's pretend" and those that relearn them are endowed with great wealth and honour. Angelina Jolie must be congratulated on her lightness of touch, definitely no Hollywood here. The cinematography is well shot, mostly at the height of a child which helps reinforce the helplessness of the protagonists in the dystopian, year zero world that is Cambodia in 1975. There have been many other films that give a more rounded interpretation of this period but none to my recollection, from the perspective of a child, and this is something that all of us can relate to given the special talents of Sareum Srey Moch, who magically takes us back to how a seven year old sees the world, for better or for worse.

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....

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.

A movie based on Long Ung's autobiography about her childhood memories as a child soldier during the Khmer Rouge regime. First they Killed my Father is an incredibly moving story. The camera angles are set low and at times the story seems slow, and throughout has little dialogue, but in the end this works well in telling this story from a child's perspective.

I did not expect that I would have been so emotional after watching this movie. And several times, I found myself revisiting both the troubling and precious moments portrayed in the film. Perhaps it's because my earliest memories of television are news film of war in Indochina, and the opening scenes briefly show Long Ung standing beside a black and white television, with similar vision playing while the Khmer Rouge are marching down the streets outside. I found myself trying to compare my childhood to hers. For me this alone is powerful. Don't expect any big history questions to be answered or seek to ask who's responsible, this isn't needed to see this story as it would have been seen through the eyes of a child.

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.