American journalist Andrew Cameron (Robert Walker, Jr.), unable to take his Asian lover when he flees Kampuchea before the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1970s, returns after three years, determined to remove her from her still embattled nation. Believing that he will find assistance for his idealistic mission, Andrew is disappointed although not deterred in his endeavours to locate a guide who will lead him to the village of his languishing love. Andrew joins a group of partisans led by an American Viet Nam veteran (Christopher George) who doublecrosses him, forcing him to look elsewhere to obtain aid for his planned rescue. Shot in Thailand, the work is not directed very well and utilizes an unseasoned Thai crew, and yet some scenes are potent, thanks to creative camerawork and some focussed acting by the international cast. The storyline is not without interest but unfortunately is somewhat incoherent, flashbacks merging with the present in unclear fashion. Additional difficulty results from erratic sound dubbing, looping and mixing, aggravated by long stretches of Thai and Khmer dialogue, at times dubbed, with a lack of explanatory subtitles heightening continuity flaws within the scenario as most viewers will not be able to adequately comprehend what is occurring. This partly Italian funded production benefits from a rather overheated but appropriate score composed by Stelvio Cipriani, while local stunt performers follow well the directions of stunt coordinator Benito Stefanelli. A goodly portion of the dialogue is cliched as presented, and emphasis upon violence abounds, but the work is nicely paced and full of energy. It is perhaps this intensity that, despite being too often at the service of incomprehensible plot elements, raises this generally below standard production up a notch, including its ending that avoids the familiar.
