Similarities to The Death and Life of Dith Pran

Similarities to The Death and Life of Dith Pran

The film The Killing Fields really did a remarkably well job in portraying the turmoil going on in Cambodia accurately. One reason this film has been recognized and is so widely acclaimed is because of the real brutality and severity of the scenes that present a striking similarity with Cambodia's reality. The Killing Fields does not glamorize or hollywood-ize anything but instead takes the viewer on a captivating, emotional roller coaster ride of everything taking place in Cambodia. When researching both the similarities and differences between the text and the film, we had a fairly easy time pinpointing the similarities as opposed to the differences.These are some of the main similarities we found. 

The scene in the film where the American Embassy is getting evacuated followed the book extremely well and did a fantastic job demonstrating the intense, high-strung, chaotic situation. An excerpt from this part in the book says, "In the sky, the helicopters swarm like wasps, heading in and out of the landing zone nearby, taking evacuees to the aircraft carrier USS Okinawa in the Gulf of Siam, which will then head for Thailand. A steady stream of foreigners, Cambodians, and embassy officials arrive at the building and pass through a special metal door. Brown tags with their names on them are placed around their necks, an they are then moved to the flatbed trucks that will take them to the landing zone. some have tears in their eyes, but most mask their feelings." In the text, Schanberg takes the reader into his shoes as he is frantically trying to find Pran and his family so they get loaded up in time. While watching the film, (although already knowing the outcome and that Pran's family would in fact get there in time) my heart still began racing as I panicked along with Sydney in those insane moments leading up to the evacuation.

In the scene in the book when Dith and Sydney reunite, Schanberg (2010) describes the reunion, "Then Pran comes running out of the long house - I remember in that fraction of a second thinking how hurt and vulnerable he looked - and literally leaps into my arms, his legs wrapped around my waist, his head buried in my shoulder." (p.103) The movie wonderfully captures this exact moment with accuracy. In the interview video "Last Word: Dith Pran, Schanberg himself says in reference to the final scene "I'm awfully glad that they kept that scene exactly as it was."

Dith and Sydney Reunion Scene

Last Word: Dith Pran Video

The scene in the movie where the passport for Dith is being forged follows the text extremely well. The text states, Schanberg (2010) "We have one last hope for Pran: Jon Swain happens to have a second British passport. It is in Swain's name, but we think we can doctor it and alter the name skillfully enough to give Pran a foreign identity." (p. 83) The film plays this out exactly as stated in the book and is a turning point in the story line, so setting the scene correctly in the movie is of vital importance. 

In the book when Sydney and Dith are taken into custody by the Khmer Rouge soldiers in an armored car and Sydney takes out a rose and calls it a good-luck rose. Schanberg (2010) said to another man in the car with them "Look, Jon, I've got Jessica's good-luck rose with me. Nothing can really happen to us." (p. 77) This occurrence is depicted accurately in the film and it is known that the rose is a supposed good-luck rose given to him by his daughter, Jessica.

Over and over again, the heartlessness of the brainwashed Khmer Rouge Soldiers is shown in the movie as they harm, hurt, and kill the citizens easily with absolutely no remorse. Schanberg (2010) "The Communist soldiers were treating people like livestock; they were slashing the tires on cars to force people to walk, they used ideological words he (Pran) had never heard before; they seemed totally alien." (p. 91) This description of Schanberg's in the book display the inhuman-like qualities the soldiers seem to possess as they become more and more brainwashed. Gone is any emotion or feeling. The film demonstrates this countless times and is a common theme in the film. As the film goes on, viewers are not surprised in the emotionless actions of the soldiers because it becomes such a normality and common occurrence. 

In the book Sydney talks about pushing Pran extremely hard in getting more interviews, more info, and doing a little more, due to Sydney himself being very motivated. As said in Schanberg (2010) "As the war dragged on and conditions deteriorated, I drove Pran very hard. I was driven, so I drove him." (p.67) The movie shows exactly this with Pran working incredibly hard with Schanberg as his main motivator.

In the film, Pran sneaks out to suck the blood from the buffalo and is then caught by the Khmer Rouge and punished for doing so.This also happens in the book and is depicted in the movie just as written by Schanberg. 

In both the film and the book when the Khmer Rouge is first introduced as the new government, citizens hang white sheets welcoming them in. This little detail from the book that the director chose to include in the film adds an interesting element. It brings the remembrance that when the Khmer Rouge first came to power, the citizens had high hopes and expectations of the new government without being able to begin to fathom what the Khmer Rouge would really bring to Cambodia.