John Bingham wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 1:58 am

siliconlife wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:19 am

Re overseas Khmer survivors question: probably because people who survived the Khmer Rouge and stayed in Cambodia generally don't have as much ability to express themselves in English as the diaspora.

They don't have to express themselves in English, I know a whole load of people who I talk to everyday who lived through that time and they don't define themselves because of one period, they have lived through multiple regimes. It's just overstating something to try and give weight to their opinions. For example "KDL from USA" in his review wrote nothing of any substance about the period, he just used his "survivor status" to qualify his opinions on how he thinks a film should be made.

You know those people though, they're not anonymous voices on the Internet. I have seen Khmers who aren't overseas do this on FB too. It's not defining yourself, it's stating that you may be approaching this particular film differently to others. Why would he need to say anything of substance about the period? It was a film review, not a history lesson.

The film is dedicated to them, after all.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:11 am

siliconlife wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 4:44 am Why would he need to say anything of substance about the period? It was a film review, not a history lesson.

Would anyone do a review of a gangster movie and qualify it with "I was a gangster for 10 years" before launching into a critique of lighting techniques or editing?

Seems unlikely considering that most people who are gangsters are not cinephiles, but for that reason it seems like a poor analogy. Refugees, especially child refugees, turn out to be all sorts of different kinds of people. However, I see no reason why a gangster shouldn't do that. Besides, KDL also commented on its lack of atmosphere - or "grit and guts" as he put it. Lighting, editing, music, etc - all of these are important in creating an authentic vision. I think that is substantial, and I'm far more inclined to listen to someone who speaks about the actual constituents of what makes a good movie than the many other starry-eyed viewers who just lavished praises on the film and reveled in its association with the Hollywood cult.

To put it short, I think he was just saying what he wanted to about a movie that he felt was relevant to him, like many other survivors with different opinions, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I just happen to agree with him.

Without fathers and mothers being killed, there would be fewer orphans for the likes of Angelina and Madonna to adopt.

Hollywood Foreign Language Film Award
7 November 2017
Angelina Jolie made a stunning appearance at the Hollywood Film Awards in LA on Sunday night. After walking the red carpet in a silver satin wrap gown from Jenny Packham, the Oscar winner was joined onstage by American-Cambodian activist Loung Ung, author of the memoir First They Killed My Father, which Angelina adapted into a feature film this year. The two accepted the award for Hollywood foreign language film thanks to their work on the project, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

It was very well-made, it kind of fell apart at the end, but I suppose real life is like that sometimes