First They Killed My Father

UK Release Date. 15 September 2017
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 16 mins
Director. Angelina Jolie
Cast. Heng Dara, Mun Kimhak, Phoeung Kompheak, Sareum Srey Moch, Sveng Socheata.
Rating. 73%

Review.

Apparently, Angelina Jolie fell in love with Cambodia whilst filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2000. When in Siem Reap she purchased a book for $2 from a bookseller by the side of the road - the book in question was First They Killed My Father: A Daughter Of Cambodia Remembers, written by Loung Ung. The book is a personal account of one child's experience of the horrific Cambodian genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. During this period in history the people of Cambodia were subjected to widespread forced migration and labour, starvation, torture and murder. The genocide resulted in the slaughter of an estimated two million people, nearly a quarter of the country's population. 

Seventeen years after First They Killed My Father: A Daughter Of Cambodia Remembers was published, Jolie produced and directed a film adaptation, First They Killed My Father.

The second youngest of seven children, Loung Ung (Sareum Srey Moch) is just five years old when her life is turned upside down when the Khmer Rouge invade Phnom Penh. The family are forced to flee the city (where Ung's father worked as a high-ranking government official) and begin an arduous journey to a communist work camp elsewhere in Cambodia. The conditions in the work camp are horrific and after the three eldest children are sent off to combat, Loung's mother forces the next three children to escape the camp. Separated from her siblings, Loung is trained to become a child soldier, amidst much fervour and vehemence for the Communist Party of Kampuchea. 

Masterful cinematography from Academy Award-winning cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle [Mantle received the 2009 Academy Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Slumdog Millionaire]. The camera angles are purposely set low, and at times the storyline seems pedestrian, but the end result is impressive in conveying the story from a child's perspective.

First They Killed My Father is another ambitious personal project from Angelina Jolie. Her fourth film as a director - following In The Land Of Blood And Honey, Unbroken and By The Sea - may just be her most accomplished to date. Jolie delivers an incredibly powerful and moving film. Especially given the fact that no-one in the film had ever acted on screen prior to First They Killed My Father. Whilst the film may be criticised for a lack of character development, particularly of Loung Ung's siblings, Jolie skilfully keeps the audience engaged without excessive exposition or dialogue. Impressive.