One day in April 1975, in a wealthy family in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, the family listened to beautiful music, danced, drank, talked and laughed, and lived a peaceful and happy life, immersed in a warm atmosphere.
However, at that time, the situation in Cambodia was turbulent, and the Khmer Rouge organization Ankha rushed into Phnom Penh with great momentum, resulting in a drastic change in the whole country.
Anka claimed that the Americans were going to bomb Phnom Penh and drove the citizens out of the city. The Loung family could only quickly pack their bags and begin a life of displacement.
At first, the Loung family drove a truck with the brigade, but it was not long before the truck was requisitioned, and even his father's watch was requisitioned.
This is the beginning of an epic film about the Khmer Rouge governance period in Cambodia, the title is very long, called "They Killed My Father First: A Memoirs of a Cambodian Daughter", the whole film recalls this tragic history from the perspective of a little girl Lone, which is quite shocking.
Surprisingly, this Cambodian film was actually written by Angelina Jolie. After watching this shocking work, I was in awe of Julie.
Angelina Jolie is both director and screenwriter of the new film, which is based on a memoir by Cambodian-American writer Lone Ung.
A "Tomb Raider" is completely fascinated by Angelina Jolie, and laura played by her has a strong aura and a sexy and charming body, achieving a classic screen image.
Later films such as "Original Sin", "Motor Murder", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", "Agent Schoutert", and "Wanted" were released in turn, and the departments were stunning, establishing a wild, rebellious and sexy screen image.
In recent years, Angelina Jolie has begun to focus on directing. In 2011, she released her debut film "Land of Blood and Honey", in 2014, her director 'Indestructible' was released, and in 2015, she brought "Deep Feelings on the Coast", and Julie gradually formed her own film style.
"They Killed My Father First" is by far the highest artistic achievement in Angelina Jolie's career.
The story of this film is shocking, the overall texture is excellent, the emotional tone is more tragic and dark, the plot is full of tension, through the encounter of a little girl and everything she sees, to reveal the tragedy of an era.
The Khmer Rouge rule lasted for three years and eight months, during which one-quarter of the country's population died of famine, servitude, disease or persecution through forced centralized governance, forced labor, and forced enlistment in the army, making it one of the bloodiest and most violent man-made disasters of the 20th century.
It's a crazy time, and most people are victims, but they are powerless to resist and can only be at the mercy of others.
The Loung family was first assigned to work intensively, working on the farm and producing food for the front line, regardless of age, while they could only eat porridge soup every day, which could barely find rice.
Because she didn't have enough to eat, her sister secretly ate some broad beans when picking vegetables, and she was taught a harsh lesson once, and could only kneel on the ground and beg for forgiveness.
Because the younger brother saw that his sister was hungry and had a stomachache, he went to steal some food to fill his sister's stomach, but he was beaten to the head and bled.
The grain they worked so hard to produce was claimed to be "sent to the front line", while as laborers, they could only endure hunger every day, and their faces were yellow and thin.
Because of the "needs of the revolution", two older brothers and one sister were transferred to other places, but not long after, the sister died of a serious illness. When she heard the news of her sister's death, her mother cried until she could not stop crying, while her father could only watch from a distance, because she had to continue to work.
From this film, you can feel the cruelty of the reality of the Khmer Rouge period, the horror of oppression and the extinction of humanity, but "They Killed My Father First" does not describe too much of the bloody and violent that this period will feel uncomfortable.
It focuses on recalling this history from the perspective of a little girl, depicting one of Cambodia's most difficult periods through the changes in the life of a family.
The reason for choosing such an angle is, on the one hand, because the original work itself truly restores the facts that Lounge sees and experiences, and on the other hand, because of Julie's female perspective, she pays more attention to recreating history and paying more attention to the emotions of the characters in this historical period.
It shows the images of both parents being killed through loft fantasies or dreams, but Julie handles it very properly, after all, this is lone's memoir.
"They Killed My Father First" has many tear-jerking scenes. The family sat around together, secretly roasting and eating the insects that their father had hidden, and each one of them ate with relish, and the family also talked about the food they wanted to eat when they returned home.
After the first experience of the gunfire, Loung cried to find his family, but did not find anyone, helpless and confused, until on the way to escape, he met the sisters and brothers again, the three of them hugged each other and laughed, looked at each other and cried. Julie used more shots to show this emotional moment, with just the right amount of music, instantly making people cry.
Loung was sent to train as a Boy Scout and forced to practice shooting, laying and killing. At the end, when she saw that a Khmer Rouge man had been caught, a bunch of injured people punched and kicked him, and Lounge saw all this, with mixed feelings, so angry that she clenched her fists, but she just cried and shouted in the midst of the crowd's scolding: Daddy.
In terms of overall quality, "They Killed My Father First" is obviously a rare film masterpiece, which records a historical past that Cambodians dare not make.
There is a bit of a backdrop to why Jolie chose to make a film about Cambodia's sensitive period. Working in film was her first career, while her second was charity and rescue.
Because of the filming of "Tomb Raider", Julie came to Cambodia, where she saw a lot of refugees, but also listened to a lot of Cambodian history and stories, and was shocked.
Since then, she has started her own philanthropic work as a volunteer in refugee camps in Africa, Pakistan and Cambodia. The loving Julie also adopted orphans, promoted the implementation of the "Comfort Maddox Project", and established the "Julie Fund" to help the local suffering people.
This year, Julie filmed a powerful film where her philanthropy began. "They Killed My Father First" conveys her attitude toward war, politics, and history, and is another practice of her spirit of great love, which is based on this spirit that has made her the best film of her directorial career.