--- title: "First They Killed My Father" year: 2017 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/first-they-killed-my-father" fi1m_id: "first-they-killed-my-father" imdb_id: "tt4882376" tmdb_id: 433247 wikidata_id: "Q22908422" fi1m_score: 66 critics_score: 57 critics_reviews: 18 published: "2026-10-02T23:56:18.698335+00:00" updated: "2026-10-02T23:56:19.410648+00:00" region: "FI" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # First They Killed My Father (2017) Directed by Angelina Jolie · 2h 16m · War, Drama, History ## Identity First They Killed My Father - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/first-they-killed-my-father - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** first-they-killed-my-father - **IMDb ID:** tt4882376 - **TMDB ID:** 433247 - **Wikidata ID:** Q22908422 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4882376/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/433247, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22908422 **Fi1m score: 66** · Critics 57 from 18 reviews *In a sentence:* Angelina Jolie films the end of the world from a child’s eye level and then, repeatedly, from a drone > Angelina Jolie’s account of the Khmer Rouge years, seen through a small girl’s eyes, is serious, tactful and often beautiful to look at. It is also long, and it keeps Loung so quiet that we watch her ordeal more than we share it. ## Synopsis Phnom Penh, April 1975. Loung (Sareum Srey Moch), a girl in a comfortable city family, lives with her father Pa (Phoeung Kompheak), a government official, her mother Ma (Sveng Socheata) and six brothers and sisters, among them Kim (Mun Kimhak), Keav (Oun Srey Neang) and the baby, Geak (Sarun Nika). Khmer Rouge soldiers roll into the city to cheering crowds and within hours order everyone out of it. The family joins the columns on the road, leaving everything behind, including their name: Pa tells the children they are peasants now and must never say what he did for a living. Sent to a labour camp, dressed in black and fed on rice water, they try to stay together and unnoticed. The film is in Khmer, from Loung Ung’s memoir. ## Review Angelina Jolie’s film is taken from Loung Ung’s memoir of living through the Khmer Rouge years as a small child, and Ung wrote the screenplay with her. It is spoken in Khmer, cast with Cambodian actors, and co-produced by Rithy Panh, whose own films about those years are the standard any newcomer has to meet. Jolie has set herself one rule: we see only what Loung sees, from Loung’s height, and nobody explains to us what nobody explained to her. The rule is honourable and it costs the film a great deal. We admired it for all of its 136 minutes and were moved by it for perhaps thirty. Anthony Dod Mantle shoots most of it handheld at a child’s eye level, so adults are largely belts and rifles and the frame is forever being jostled from behind. Then, every so often, the camera lifts straight up and we look down on a column of thousands on a road, or a paddy cut into squares, or a camp of thatched huts in rows. These overhead shots are the film’s signature and they are beautiful, which is the trouble with them: from up there the country looks like a garden and the people like a pattern. Tom Brown builds the camps from bamboo and mud and nothing else. Ellen Mirojnick does the one thing the costumes have to do, which is take a family’s coloured city clothes and, over a few scenes, turn them the same black as everyone else’s. Sareum Srey Moch is on screen as Loung almost without a break. She says little, by design, and she has a face the camera can rest on: round, wary, slow to give anything away. There are moments when something she has seen crosses it and no line is needed. There are more moments when Jolie cuts to her for a reaction, the face stays shut, and we are left to supply the feeling ourselves. Phoeung Kompheak, as Pa, is the one adult we come to know, a soft-spoken man lying for his family’s sake and hating the lie. Sveng Socheata’s Ma is sharper and more frightened and gets about a third of his screen time. The emptying of Phnom Penh is the stretch that got to us. Jolie and her editors, Patricia Rommel and Xavier Box, let it run: loudspeakers announcing that the Americans are about to bomb, the family carrying what it can, the road filling until it moves like one slow animal, a body in a ditch that Loung looks at and her mother turns her from. At a checkpoint where a soldier asks Pa what he used to do, we were holding our breath, and we have sat through a great many checkpoints. That is the film working as intended: a child’s dread on screen, and the adult knowledge of what is coming supplied by us. The camp is where it stalls. Digging, rice water, speeches from a cadre (Tharoth Sam) about Angkar and the revolution, children sent away to other camps, more digging. This is faithful, and sameness was the truth of those places, but on screen it is only sameness. Somewhere past the hour we were bored, and ashamed of it, since the people in front of us were dying of the thing we were bored by. Marco Beltrami’s score is spare and respectful, low strings and long silences, and it does nothing to shape the hours; nor do Rommel and Box, who cut the middle of the film at one unvarying pace. Keeping us inside a child’s head is the choice most critics have divided over, and we come down on both sides of it. It spares us the history lesson, and the film is better than [*The Killing Fields*](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields) (1984) at making the terror ordinary, a matter of lists and loudspeakers and a gap where a person used to be. But it leaves Loung’s brothers and sisters as names and faces, and when the film needs us to fear for one of them we realise we were barely introduced. Panh’s *The Missing Picture* (2013) told the same history with clay figures and a man’s memory and hurt more. It is a serious film, made with care by people who had every right to make it, and we are glad it exists. Watch it at home with the lights off and the phone in another room, because its effects are quiet and it will not fight for your attention. Bring patience for the middle hour. The last half hour, which we will not describe, repays it. *Fi1m score 66, published 2 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews split almost evenly between admirers and doubters, with the largest group sitting somewhere in between. Where they agree is on the craft. Most single out Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography, the overhead shots and the Cambodian landscapes especially, and several praise Sareum Srey Moch as an expressive, watchable Loung. Several also credit the child’s-eye view with keeping the horrors intimate rather than lurid. The quarrel is over whether that view works. A sizeable group finds the film impeccably made but emotionally distant: Loung watches, so the audience watches too, and the result is more disturbing than moving. The Los Angeles Times, Vulture and The Ringer land here, The Ringer calling it impersonal and dull. At the other end, The Playlist and Consequence find it moving and humane, Consequence rating it Jolie’s most effective work as a director. The spread is wide, and few of the critics in the middle sound enthusiastic. ## Straight answers **How long is First They Killed My Father, and what is it rated?** *First They Killed My Father* runs 2h 16m. It is a war and drama film. **Where can I watch First They Killed My Father in Finland?** *First They Killed My Father* is streaming on Netflix in Finland. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **What should I watch after First They Killed My Father?** After *First They Killed My Father*, try [*The Killing Fields*](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields) (1984, Fi1m 82): The same years from the outside, through a journalist and the friend he left behind. Then [*Grave of the Fireflies*](https://film.one/film/grave-of-the-fireflies) (1988, Fi1m 94): Two children, a war, and nobody coming; animated, and harder than most live action; and [*Come and See*](https://film.one/film/come-and-see) (1985, Fi1m 92): A boy in occupied Belarus; the child’s-eye war film with its eyes fully open. ### Reviews we read (18) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (4/5): Bradshaw calls the film an accomplished, artistically assured work that confronts the horror of the Khmer Rouge era. He praises its eerily beautiful overhead cinematography and the way it evokes the psychological effects of terror. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/12/first-they-killed-my-father-review-angelina-jolies-triumph-spotlights-casualties-of-war) - **The AV Club**, Katie Rife (B): Rife finds the film an accomplished, overly long mood piece that works better as art than as a history lesson. She praises its quiet, child-centered perspective and impressionistic imagery for conveying the Khmer Rouge’s dehumanization. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/first-they-killed-my-father-depicts-genocide-through-a-1808419757) - **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (65/100, inferred): Collin finds the film vivid and lyrical, though ultimately more instructive than moving. He praises the striking images captured by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/first-killed-father-review-angelina-jolies-passion-powers-vivid/) - **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. Its praise or criticism of any particular aspect is likewise unavailable. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/first-they-killed-my-father-2017) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page was inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No specific praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/movies/first-they-killed-my-father-review-angelina-jolie.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (2.5/4): Bowen finds the film uneven but ultimately stirring, praising Jolie’s increasingly physical, intimate depiction of a child’s survival. He criticizes the early sequences as impersonal and rote. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/first-they-killed-my-father/) - **Screen Daily**, Allan Hunter (60/100, inferred): The review describes the film as sincere but glum, suggesting a mixed yet mildly positive verdict. It singles out the film’s chronicle of the Khmer Rouge’s rise as sincere, while noting its gloomy tone. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/first-they-killed-my-father-toronto-review/5122312.article) - **Radio Times**, Ellie Harrison (55/100, inferred): The headline suggests a thoughtful portrait that does not fully achieve its force. The accessible text singles out its quiet study of war through a child’s eyes. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/first-they-killed-my-father-review-netflix/) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge (50/100, inferred): Debruge finds the film earnest and cinematically impressive, but ultimately less compelling than its subject warrants. He praises its vivid Cambodian landscapes while criticizing its lack of context and underdeveloped characterization. [Read](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/first-they-killed-my-father-review-angelina-jolie-1202545717/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (35/100, inferred): Turan finds the film impeccably made but ultimately more disturbing than moving, and says it fails to make the story emotionally compelling. He praises its meticulous historical recreation and the atmosphere of dread, while noting that Loung’s role as a watcher creates distance. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-first-they-killed-my-father-review-20170914-story.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Stephen Farber (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film well-crafted but too repressed and repetitive to become a searing work of art. He praises the cinematography and haunting score, while faulting the limited perspective and lack of visceral impact. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/first-they-killed-my-father-review-1034849/) - **The New Yorker** (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the drama earnest but superficial, with limited access to Loung’s perspective. They praise a late scene of children caught in crossfire for briefly and powerfully conveying the chaos of war. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/first-they-killed-my-father) - **Vulture**, Emily Yoshida (30/100, inferred): Yoshida finds the film worthy in subject but artistically inert, wishing it had been told with more inventiveness. She praises Sareum Srey Moch as watchable, but criticizes the film’s emotionally blank portrayal of Loung’s childhood perspective. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/angelina-jolies-first-they-killed-my-father-is-inert-cinema.html) - **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (A-): Ellwood gives the film emphatic praise, calling it a moving and masterfully crafted account of Cambodia’s darkest period. He especially praises Sreymoch Sareum’s expressive performance and Jolie’s visual storytelling. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/first-came-father-angelina-jolie-revisits-cambodias-darkest-hour-telluride-20170906/) - **Consequence**, Blake Goble (85/100, inferred): Goble considers the film Jolie’s most effective directorial work yet, praising its humane, emotionally daring approach. He singles out the child-centered perspective and Anthony Dod Mantle’s vivid cinematography for making the horrors intimate without exploiting them. [Read](https://consequence.net/2017/09/film-review-first-they-killed-my-father/) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (85/100, inferred): Kermode calls the film a devastating and important perspective on the Khmer Rouge genocide. She particularly praises Sareum Srey Moch’s expressive, believable performance as Loung. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/first-they-killed-my-father-2017-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) - **The Wrap** (45/100, inferred): The critic finds the film admirable but ultimately less affecting than it should be. They praise its striking visual imagery while faulting the direction for favoring spectacle over emotional impact. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/first-they-killed-my-father-review-angelina-jolie/) - **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film worthwhile for its subject but ultimately frustratingly impersonal and boring. He praises its respectful handling of an important story, while faulting its lack of individual character and inner life. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2017/09/18/movies/first-they-killed-my-father-film-review-angelina-jolie-netflix) ## Details - **Director:** Angelina Jolie - **Director:** Angelina Jolie - **Screenplay:** Angelina Jolie, Loung Ung - **Cinematography:** Anthony Dod Mantle - **Editor:** Xavier Box, Patricia Rommel - **Music:** Marco Beltrami - **Production design:** Tom Brown - **Costume design:** Ellen Mirojnick - **Producer:** Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh, Ted Sarandos - **Cast:** Sareum Srey Moch as Loung; Phoeung Kompheak as Pa; Sveng Socheata as Ma; Mun Kimhak as Kim; Heng Dara as Meng; Khoun Sothea as Khouy; Sarun Nika as Geak; Run Malyna as Chaou - **Runtime:** 2h 16m - **First release (Romania):** 18 February 2017 - **Genres:** War, Drama, History - **Budget:** $24 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_SpNqLwzI ## Where to watch in Finland - Netflix: streaming *Checked 2026-10-02.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - International Submission to the Academy Awards 2018: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Killing Fields* (1984), Fi1m 82: The same years from the outside, through a journalist and the friend he left behind — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-killing-fields.md) - *The Missing Picture* (2013): Rithy Panh rebuilds his own childhood under the Khmer Rouge in clay figures - *Grave of the Fireflies* (1988), Fi1m 94: Two children, a war, and nobody coming; animated, and harder than most live action — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/grave-of-the-fireflies.md) - *Come and See* (1985), Fi1m 92: A boy in occupied Belarus; the child’s-eye war film with its eyes fully open — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/come-and-see.md) - *Beasts of No Nation* (2015), Fi1m 72: A boy soldier in an unnamed African war, and the man who makes him one — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/beasts-of-no-nation.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/first-they-killed-my-father