First They Killed My Father (2017) on Netflix
In 1975, five-year-old Loung Ung lives in Phnom Penh with her six siblings as the Khmer Rouge closes in. Soldiers force the family out, and her father Pa conceals his government past.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.2/1022,457 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1975, five-year-old Loung Ung is the daughter of a Khmer National Armed Forces officer whom his seven children call Pa. Fighting from the Vietnam War spills into Cambodia, American planes bomb North Vietnamese forces sheltering there, and the Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh, ordering every family out of the city on the claim that the Americans will bomb it. Questioned by Khmer Rouge soldiers, Pa denies having worked for the government, knowing what discovery would mean. The family shelters with Loung's uncle for a time until her aunt, fearing Pa will be found out, insists they leave. Days later soldiers seize the family and other refugees and take them to a labor camp, where they build their own shelter, work under harsh conditions, and lose their possessions.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about First They Killed My Father (2017)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Cambodia submitted the film for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated; it was the first time a prominent American director's non-English film had been submitted since the Academy set a 1984 rule. Angelina Jolie has dual U.S. and Cambodian citizenship.
