Swimming to Cambodia

1987
R
1h 25m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

2.5K

YOUR RATING

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6 Photos

Comedy Drama

Spalding Gray discusses his participation in the film La déchirure (1984) and the background story about the troubles of Cambodia.Spalding Gray discusses his participation in the film La déchirure (1984) and the background story about the troubles of Cambodia.Spalding Gray discusses his participation in the film La déchirure (1984) and the background story about the troubles of Cambodia.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

2.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 nominations total

Videos1

Clip 2:02

Swimming to Cambodia

Photos5

Top cast3

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Spalding Gray

Self

Sam Waterston

Additional Cast from 'The Killing Fields'
(archive footage)

Ira Wheeler

Additional Cast from 'The Killing Fields'
(archive footage)

Director
- Jonathan Demme
Writer
- Spalding Gray
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews19

7.62.4K

Featured reviews

10wasps_elbow

This is my opinion. so don't be surprised if you disagree.

Swimming to Cambodia, is deep, insightful and hillarious.

You are caught up in Gray's fast paced account of his time in Thailand and boston and New York and god only knows how many other places, the whole experience is enhanced by the fabulous play on lighting, music and camerawork. You'll find yourself either leaning forward, swept up in the rythum of his speech, and the depth of both detail and insight. or sagging back in your chair as you catch your breath, or on the brink of tears, or clutching your sides as you laugh.

I gave this film a ten, and i'm not easily impressed.

watch this film with friends or on your own as it's perfect for either. But be sure watch it more than once, as it will never get old.

10aculprit

The best, never better

Jonathan Demme is a genius, and if you doubt it, see this film. Who else could've made a man sitting at a table talking so riveting? Although Spalding is a great storyteller and great to see live, none of the other films of his monologues have ever touched this one, the first.

See it and you'll never drink Singha again.

10mattbyrne69

Monologue about filming 'The Killing Fields' reveals genius shock!

Spalding's 'Swimming to Cambodia' defies the preconceptions often brought to a movie: we get to see one man at a desk, with a lamp and a glass of water, and a map of Cambodia with a pointer to help. And then Gray's amazing ability to hook the listener into his amazing free improvised anecdotes makes it worth a thousand blockbusters. Demme's film prior to this was 'Something Wild'... this is wilder and wittier. Do yourself a favour and watch. Spalding's tragic suicide last year brings a poignant edge to many of his existential observations, but this is uplifting, entertaining, funny and harrowing all in one. And it's a monologue. Sam Shephard once said it was impossible to compare anyone to Spalding, so unique was he. Here's the proof.

9ashakydd

Spalding Gray is the father of my love child

I have to admit that the quote from his second video-monologue "I didn't think that I could listen to a person talk for an hour & a half, let alone a man" is the most honest statement I have heard about Spalding Gray. Although I have to admit that his later video-monologues (after Monster In A Box) lacked some of the intensity of his first two (that I am aware of), he has produced a fascinating body of work between his stints as a bit actor. Swimming to Cambodia is an amazing film that I could not dare ruin for those who dare to explore this wonderful, dark and detailed world that Spalding Gray opens up and offers to us to explore. Watch this film, if you dare.

10Norrin Radd

WORTH HUNTING DOWN

Spalding Gray is an amazing orator. They way he can interweave various story aspects into a narrative patchwork is riveting. As you can tell I'm a big fan of his work and this is probably his best. Directed by Jonathan Demme in a no frills to the bone style. The star of this concert isn't demme or gray, it's the elocution.

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Gray refers to the Cambodian photojournalist Dith Pran who survived the Khmer Rouge and ended up working for the New York Times. The year the present film was made, 1986, was the year that Pran received his U.S. citizenship. He passed away from cancer at the age of 65 in March, 2008.

Quotes
[last lines]
Spalding Gray: Farewell, to the fantastic breakfasts, free every morning and there they were, waiting on you with the papaya, mango, and pineapple like I'd never tasted before. Farewell, to the Thai maids with the king-sized cotton sheets and the big king-sized beds. Farewell, to the fresh meat flown in from America, daily. Roast potatoes, green beans and roast lamb, at 110 degrees under a circus tent, according to British Equity. Farewell to the drivers with the tinted glasses and the Mercedes with the tinted windows. Farewell to the cakes, teas and ices every day exactly at four o'clock. Farewell to those beautiful smiling people. Farewell to that single, fresh rose in a vase on my bureau every day. And just as I was climbing into that first-class seat, and wrapping myself in a blanket, just as I was adjusting my pillow behind my head, and having a sip of that champagne, and just as I was bringing down and adjusting my Thai purple sleep mask... I had an inkling, I had a flash... I suddenly thought I knew what it was that had killed Marilyn Monroe...

Alternate versions
A&E cuts out the part of the sex performer doing tricks with her vagina (including the banana hitting the wall, which Gray alludes to early in the act.) In addition, the scene uses different close-ups, and ends with "boobly oobly."