Netflix is home to a number of incredible period dramas, including a deeply moving film based on harrowing real-life events
Viewers have been praising a profoundly emotional historical film rooted in heartbreaking real events.
This follows acclaim for a TV series dubbed Netflix’s “best”, a BBC period drama celebrated as a “masterpiece”, and renewed interest in a classic murder mystery series, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Netflix‘s First They Killed My Father was released in 2017 and chronicles the experiences of a young girl engulfed in the 1970s Cambodian genocide orchestrated by the Khmer Rouge under dictator Pol Pot. The film opens in 1975 with five year old Loung Ung (portrayed by Sreymoch Sareum), daughter of a senior military officer, and her family escaping from the advancing Khmer Rouge as they seize the capital Phnom Penh.
As time passes, Loung is forced to become a child soldier for the communist regime and compelled to battle the neighbouring Vietnamese forces, whilst her siblings are sent to labour camps. The narrative provides a devastating glimpse into the terrible human toll of ideology, with innocent civilians caught up in the violence.
Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie helmed the film, which was adapted from the 2007 memoir First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung. The author collaborated with Jolie on the screenplay.
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First They Killed My Father currently boasts an 88 per cent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 per cent on the Popcornmeter, whilst on IMDb it holds a 7.2/10 rating.
The historical film has been showered with accolades on IMDb, with one viewer giving it a perfect 10/10 and writing: “Exquisite cinematography, phenomenal performances, and a magnificent account of modern day genocide.”
The viewer concluded their review by saying: “The images stay with you long after the film concludes, and you’re left with an indelible memory of atrocities that are scarcely known. As well as an understanding of how human beings can transcend staggering circumstances. Must see!”.
Another reviewer gave it a 9/10, stating: “Words are difficult to truly justify how painful it is to watch.”
They described the film as “enthralling and “amazing”, concluding their review by declaring it a “classic” and a “timely reminder” of the fact that children are the “biggest victims” in war zones.
A third critic, also rating it 9/10, wrote: “‘First They Killed My Father’ is an excellent rendition of the individual’s struggle throughout the early Khmer Rouge occupation in 1970s Cambodia.”
They went on to say: “The film accurately portrays how Cambodians struggled under the regime, taking a more intimate perspective: a scale of about the size of a family or individual.”
Jolie previously revealed she was inspired to direct the movie after discovering Ung’s book while working on the first Tomb Raider film in 2001, where she portrayed Lara Croft. The memoir resonated with her and led to her forming a lifelong bond with author Ung.
The Girl, Interrupted actress dedicated over 50 days to shooting the film across Siem Reap and Battambang towards the end of November 2015, Screen Daily reported.
Accompanying her during production was her eldest adopted son Maddox, a native of Cambodia, who had the opportunity to discover his homeland’s history and gain insight into the experiences his biological parents “most likely went through”.
Speaking to the publication, Jolie explained: “I made it for Cambodia. I made it as a kind of thank you, a love letter. There hadn’t been a story on this scale that would reach people in their language, with them being the hero.”
Prior to this project, Jolie had helmed the Bosnian war drama In the Land of Blood and Honey, the relationship film By the Sea, and Unbroken, which chronicled the extraordinary true story of Olympian Louis Zamperini.
First They Killed My Father is streaming on Netflix now
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