THE ROAD TO FREEDOM IS PAVED WITH CAMBODIAN BLOOD
Dedicated to courageous war correspondents and victims of the Khmer Rouge, The Road to Freedom begins slowly, with cinematography of rural Cambodia as credits roll. In approximately 1974, a Khmer gentleman, Lim Po (played by Nhem Sokun) approaches a bearded European, Francias (played by Tom Proctor), to present a book. What the tome contains is a story of two photojournalists. In a flashback for most of the film, Sean (played by Joshua Frederic Smith) and Dana (played by Scott Maguire) are motorcycling through rural Cambodia taking pictures, primarily of people. When they foolishly ignore warnings, including those of Francias and the military at a Khmer Republic checkpoint, they end up in the midst of the Khmer Rouge uprising, evidently believing that the Geneva Convention protection for journalists will apply, but they are instead captured and killed. Directed by Brendan Moriarty, the dialog is pedestrian, the action limp, sex involving Sean and a girlfriend (played by Kanilen Kang) gratuitous, and the cinematography second rate. MH