The sequence I chose is from 23:44-27:20. It starts off with Pran waking Sydney up, bringing him coffee and a telegraph. The article Sydney and Pran wrote about the accidental bombings was on the first page of The New York Times. The director utilizes low-key lighting for this scene: Pran approaches Sydney with his wife’s concerns. While Sydney makes light of the subject, Pran’s face shows his worry, but he says nothing about his own opinions. Pran stoicism shows his deep loyalty to Sydney; he would never abandon him. As they talk about what the future may bring, the camera zooms into close-ups on their faces and racking focus; when Sydney speaks, the part of Pran’s face in the shot is out of focus, but when Pran starts to speak the focus switches to him and Sydney is then out of focus. This scene shows the close connection between the characters; Pran enters Sydney’s room to wake him up and remind shim “not to go back to sleep” as he leaves Sydney to prepare for the day. The two men are equals in this shadowy room with sparse décor. When Sydney learns of the story’s prominence in the newspaper, he says, “we must be doing something right”.
The sequence continues from the dark, quiet, private indoor setting to a chaotic outdoor setting through a sound bridge. Sydney talks about the Khmer Rouge’s advancement, but he is not yet in the camera shot; we see their jeep driving through the smoky city as fires rage. Sydney curses as he talks about how American involvement has caused suffering for Cambodians. This emphasizes the fault Sydney finds with American policies, as does the wide-angle lens that allows the viewer to see the many refugees filing into the city, fleeing from the insurgents. As they drive through the green countryside, a young soldier with pink flowers in his machine gun asks Sydney about American cars. He is depicted as an innocent boy; the close up on his face when Pran gives him a Mercedes symbol reveals his gleeful expression. When they reach the base, machine gun-wielding soldiers run past carts pulled by oxen and the soldiers are using a Coca-Cola factory for a war base; the conflicting interests of both the West and the East are evident in this sequence. An American soldier embraces a Cambodian soldier and their voices continue as the camera jumps around (off-screen sound) to different happenings; a wounded soldier smoking a cigarette, soldiers roasting a stray dog to eat, racks and racks of Coca-Cola bottle. The Cambodian soldier switches from his native tongue to English when he asks the soldier “Are we winning?” The director uses shallow focus to highlight Pran’s nervous facial expression; his worry from the earlier scene has carried over to this exchange. The camera then brings Sydney back to focus (racking focus) in a medium close up of the two men; they exchange concerned looks. Their close bond is reflected here; the men are reading each other’s thoughts. In more off-screen sound manipulation, the soldiers are discussing defensive plans when a bomb hits the factory.
I think that the sequence you chose to analyze encompasses the main points that "The Killing Fields" aimed to send to American audiences.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the sequence shows the power-dynamic/friendship between Pran and Schanberg. Pran is clearly Schanberg's employee. He takes care of him and enables his work, but Pran trusts Schanberg enough to share his concerns with him. Further, he trusts Schanberg's judgement that the two will be safe. In addition, the two joke with each other. Schanberg's joking is more sarcastic, fitting with his harder personality, and Pran's joke is more along the lines of teasing as he warns Schanberg not to fall back asleep.
Next, the audience is show an image of warfare. Schanberg's voice over in this scene is very telling. As the audience is being shown an image of chaos, they can hear Schanberg saying:
"We hype these people up. 'You'll be alright with us we tell 'em.' Now look at all this fucking mess..."
The "mess" he is referring to is the hundreds of refugees milling about the highway, the fires that result from explosions, the dense gray fog that hangs over the city, and the overall scene of destruction that the journalist's jeep whizzes through.
Finally, the audience is shown the consequences of warfare. The Lon Nol forces have turned a coca-cola factory into a make-shift hospital for their wounded. In this scene, as you described in class, the audience is given subliminal visual cues as to how American's directly created this scene. The coca-cola bottles that surround the victims are direct links to American influence. In addition, the dialogue emphasizes the Cambodian dependence upon the American military forces and the hopelessness that they are experiencing now that American forces have abandoned them.