Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Gareth Crook I didn't know much detail about the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia, the war through the 70-90s and to be honest there's not that much detail here. It's a dramatisation of true accounts and it's much more graphic than I was expecting. It's a film about a war though, it was never going to be pleasant. It's one of those films that always crops up on best of lists though and although those lists are often a bit crap, this certainly isn't. It's exceptionally tense, threat forever imminent in every scene and for all it's brutality, it's astonishingly good... but make no mistake, referring to anything like this as good, feels very alien. The events depicted show humanity at its very worst.

jovana-13676 Well, casting Julian Sands was the right decision because you can't go through hell without something beautiful to look at. He's gorgeous! So, allow me to be shallow, because this film's set is entirely made of human bodies, dead, half-dead, dismembered, bleeding, rotting, sick children, dead children, wounded children crying and then there's mud, mud, mud, more mud and dirt... it's hell on earth. Yes, the film looks great, if you can stomach it, with the soundtrack that would make your hair stand on end. But, without the photojournalists in action, it would have been a little too boring. The most exciting scenes are the passport forging scenes. That one made me think - how I miss REAL MEN on screen. And in 'real life'. The four leading actors, Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich and Julian Sands all have such a strong presence. With each Haing S. Ngor closeup, I want to cry. Here is something real. I am sorry that journalism has since become a joke.

Rich Wright A story about friendship and survival. If you're a journalist, you might be committed to your job, but perhaps you SHOULD be committed by agreeing to carry out reports from some of the warzones you get posted to. Especially in 1970s Cambodia, which is right on the cusp of Vietnam... and we all know what happened there in that decade. To risk getting shot and blown up every day... just for a few paragraphs in your local paper... nope, not worth it. The only column inches you could be taking up soon are in the obituary section.So this American reporter is right in the middle of the fighting, and together with two of his colleagues and a local translator, try to stick around for as long as possible... but are told to flee the country when things start getting too hot. But the three USA journos have made friends with the native guy, and they want to take him along. But after a failed attempt at giving him a phony passport, they're forced to leave him behind in the hands of a new fanatical regime. This sets up the best part of the film, as the newsmen try to track him down from the States while he suffers at the hands of his sadistic captors...Based on a true story, it is impeccably acted and holds the attention till the end, as danger lurks round every corner and people take extraordinary risks to help those they care about. It just goes to show that even in this hell on earth, lifelong friendships can be formed and whatever happens, NEVER give up hope. It's such an easy thing to say... but until you find yourself in a situation like the translator, how do you know if you'll cope? I pray you never have to find out... 7/10

aocontreras The film is a drama about Cambodia war, which last from 1967 to 1975. Action takes place in the last years of the conflict. Sydney (Sam Waterston) is an American journalist covering the war at the peak of the violence displayed by the government: the Khmer rouge. The plot is based on Sydney's friend: Dith Pran (Haing S. Nor). He is a Cambodian photographer and journalist. Both of them usually face risky situations in different cities where the government is killing innocent people. For instance, a city called Neak Luong, which is destroyed, by mistake, by the American air force in 1973. The ruling party decides to expel foreigners and this represents a twist in the story. Both characters are forced to be separated; and facing opposite situations. Dith has to live in a concentration camp. In this place all the citizens were forced to work and to accept the party's ideas. If they did not obey, then they were killed. On the other hand, Sydney returns to a safe America. He begins the search of his friend and colleague in hopes of finding him alive. I enjoyed the film. However, the plot is sad and sometimes cruel. I highly recommend it because the story is still relevant.