City of Ghosts (2002)

A con man (Matt Dillon) travels to Cambodia (also on the run from law enforcement in the U.S.) to collect his share in an insurance scam, but discovers more than he bargained for.

Director:

Matt Dillon

Writers:

Matt Dillon, Barry Gifford

Stars:

Matt Dillon, James Caan, Natascha McElhone

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Dillon	...	Jimmy
James Caan	...	Marvin
Natascha McElhone	...	Sophie
Gérard Depardieu	...	Emile (as Gerard Depardieu)
Kem Sereyvuth	...	Sok (as Sereyvuth Kem)
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Joseph Kaspar
Rose Byrne	...	Sabrina
Shawn Andrews	...	Robbie
Chalee Sankhavesa	...	Sideth
Christopher Curry	...	Larry Luckman
Rob Campbell	...	Simon (as Robert Campbell)
Bernard Merklen	...	Gerard
Jack Shearer	...	FBI Agent Burden
Kirk Fox	...	FBI Agent Philips
Kyoza	...	Rocky

Storyline

A con man flees to Southeast Asia when an international scam he was involved in goes sour. Suspecting he's been double-crossed by his long-time mentor, he sets off to Cambodia for his promised cut. What he finds there is a mysterious and hostile environment where even the most polished criminal can end up on deadly ground.

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Plot Keywords:

cambodia | nightclub | male bonding | loss of friend | buddhist temple | 

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Taglines:

When fear is the currency, what is the price of hope.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

United Artists

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Khmer Russian

Release Date:

27 March 2003 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Beneath the Banyan Trees

Filming Locations:

Cambodia

Box Office

Budget:

$17,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,547, 27 April 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$43,061, 14 July 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Mainline Pictures, Banyan Tree

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The black Mercedes-Benz, appearing in the movie, was built in 1973, and was formerly owned by the infamous leader of the Khmer Rogue, Pol Pot.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie Jimmy is lying in the back seat of the cab with a red shirt covering his face. The cab driver wakes him up and Jimmy exits the cab and puts on a green shirt.

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Quotes

Jimmy: [about his room] I don't remember requesting a monkey.

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to the People of Cambodia.

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Connections

Referenced in Do You Like Hitchcock? (2005)

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Soundtracks

Ne Te Fache Pas
Written and Performed by Sin Sisamouth

User Reviews

An interesting film, worth a look

Set in Cambodia a generation after a bloody revolution and civil war, this film follows the adventures of a smalltime crook, Jimmy, who is tracking down an older man responsible for an insurance scam and who has absconded with the money. He arrives in a country full of gangsters and opportunist thieves - not knowing who to trust, he is robbed and beaten up as often as any hero of a film noir movie.

Modern Cambodia is depicted as a hell on Earth - with the exception of a rickshaw driver, Suk, the locals are shown as violent and untrustworthy. Once again a foreign locale is simply a backdrop for white villains to have a shootout. But this doesn't detract too much from a film that is in many ways a homage to "The Third Man", with Phnom Penh standing in for a ruined postwar Vienna, the Harry Lime-equivalent seedy and enigmatic, and the protagonist equally unsympathetic at first. Odd camera angles and flashback shots abound.

The love interest seems tacked on - and a reason for having a female character - but gives Jimmy an incentive to abandon his life of crime and go straight.

An interesting film, worth a look.