First They Killed My Father (2017)

Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.

Director:

Angelina Jolie

Writers:

Loung Ung (screenplay by), Angelina Jolie (screenplay by)

Stars:

Sareum Srey Moch, Phoeung Kompheak, Sveng Socheata

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sareum Srey Moch	...	Loung Ung
Phoeung Kompheak	...	Pa Ung
Sveng Socheata	...	Ma Ung
Mun Kimhak	...	Kim
Heng Dara	...	Meng
Khoun Sothea	...	Khouy
Sarun Nika	...	Geak
Run Malyna	...	Chaou
Oun Srey Neang	...	Keav
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Horm Chhora
Henry Kissinger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mony Ros	...	(as Ros Mony)
Tharoth Sam	...	Khmer Rouge Leader
Nout Sophal	...	(as Nuth Sophal)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

genocide | communism | communist utopia | crime against humanity | mass murder | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

Cambodia USA

Language:

Khmer English French

Release Date:

15 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

First They Killed My Father

Filming Locations:

Cambodia

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Netflix,Bophana Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Almost all Cambodian artists, actors and film professionals were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime and only a few of the directors were able to flee the country. The history of the birth and destruction of Cambodian cinema is covered in the documentary Le sommeil d'or (2011) from the first Cambodian film made in 1960 to the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in 1975. In these 15 years, about 400 films were produced, but only 30 films survived. With a few of the survivors telling their stories, the documentary tries to bring back to life the myths and legends of this lost cinema. Most of the old movie theaters of Phnom Penh have now become restaurants, karaoke places or squats.

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Goofs

From 1975 to 1979, people had only skin cover their bone due to heavily overwork and starvation. Most of the scenes from movie show people still healthy with no lack of food or nutrient.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richard Nixon: [on broadcast TV] Cambodia, a small country of 7 million people, has been a neutral nation since the Geneva agreement of 1954. American policy since then has been to scrupulously respect the neutrality of the Cambodian people.
British Reporter: [standing with troops] The Vietnamese armies on the south side of the river appear to be indifferent to the contest.
Cambodian Politician: Under the pretext that there is a war necessity, they come into Cambodia.
Field Reporter: Are you glad to be in Cambodia?
Soldier: Negative. No.
Radio Reporter: The principle casualties...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The 75th Golden Globe Awards (2018)

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Soundtracks

The Moneybox
written and Performed by Robin Foster, published by Upton Park Music Publishing

User Reviews

An Extraordinary Movie, Angelina Beyond !!!

Angelina Jolie, brings us another movie, she seems to be getting into this role as a filmmaker. This film that shows the stark reality of the deployment of the Communist regime in Cambodia, through the eyes of the protagonist a girl still, based on the book she wrote of her memories, many years later, is this little treasure that our actress brings us to tell through movie light.

It is a visceral film, it shows the authoritarian action of a people that borders on the madness in political terms, an action made of philosophy and arms as it reminds us was of German Nazism. The "revolutionaries" try to disqualify everything that had been done so far in the country and put in place a strange world. What is most strange is the fact of speaking in justice, but a justice full of hatred that completely abandons love.

In this new world, only the new posture matters, philosophical arguments are used to exploit the work, and the worst, destroying the family cell is something that I imagine is destroying all the noble values ​​of humankind. It was a realization of the collective madness that was disseminated in the world as a new a world-wide solution, which, in fact, only exchanged hands with the holders of power and placed at the center of it the power to impose by force of arms the new power, which took the liberty of all.

A visceral film that hurts the soul, and at the same time makes us understand (to whoever really wants, of course) some of the political ways and doctrines that have come to hover over the history of the world and show themselves in the course of history as something that did not comply with the philosophical precepts he preached. I ask you to watch and make your reflections, a film of a haughtiness far above what you see in movies. This goes beyond simple reflection, because it is a film of few dialogues and a lot of description of real facts.