First They Killed My Father Page #5

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Loung feels Keav's hand pull at her, and her feet

automatically move in her sisters direction. With Loung’s

hand in hers, they catch up with the rest of the family and

continue their fourth day of marching.

EXT. ROAD - DAY

On their walk, the soldiers are everywhere, prodding them

along. They point and give directions with their guns.

In the scorching April heat, Loung watches as many older

people become ill from heatstroke and dehydration, although

they dare not rest. When someone falls ill, the family throws

out his belongings, puts the sick person on someone's back

and march on.

Loung notices a few lifeless bodies laid in a row on the side

of the road. She focuses on their feet.

The road ahead of them shimmers in the heat, and the dust

swells are everywhere, burning Loung’s eyes.

In the distance, her eyes focus on a lone man with a wagon

pulled by two yellow skinny cows. It is strange that he is

traveling against the flow of traffic. All of a sudden, she

is startled by Ma's scream. Between loud, halting sobs Ma

manages to say-

MA:

It’s you Uncle Leang!

With their hands in the air and bodies jumping up and down,

they wave excitedly to their uncle. UNCLE LEANG waves one

hand back and moves his ox cart in their direction. He comes

to a stop a few feet from them, and all at once they rush

toward him. He takes Ma into his arms with Pa standing

quietly beside them.

Uncle Leang hands Ma a package from the cart, she opens the

package of food, sweet rice, fish and bamboo sticks.

UNCLE LEANG:

I’ve been looking for you since I

heard.

19.

Standing next to Uncle Leang, Loung has to tilt her head back

as far as she can to see his face because he is so tall. All

she can see is the shape of his thin lips and wide, black

nostrils that flare once every few seconds as he talks to Ma.

At almost six feet tall, second Uncle Kim Leang hovers above

all of them.

OMITTED:

EXT. ROADSIDE - DAY

While Pa and Ma talk to Loung’s uncle, Loung quickly claims a

seat in the wagon with Chou and Geak. She stares at the

skinny cows. She wonders if they are strong enough to be able

to pull the family.

Only young children can be on the wagon with the uncle.

EXT. ROAD / OX CART - DAY TO DUSK

As the sun begins to set. Their trail takes them on a gravel

road along Route 26 westward. No matter where they go or in

which direction they turn, there are people marching ahead

and behind them. In the midst of the crowd,

Their wagon passes a Khmer Rouge village without stopping.

Houses on stilts and men in black with checkered scarfs. Some

of their children are in the bright green fields catching

fish with rods.

Further down the road Loung sees a pagoda with KR soldiers

holding men prisoner. Beyond them in the distance she sees

soldiers watching as Monks are made to tend the fields. Loung

looks at the faces of the Monks. They are put to work as if

they are being punished. She feels sad for them.

The cattle wagon keeps moving.

They veer westward, leaving their roadside companions far

behind.

Later-

Somewhere between Bat Deng and Krang Truop, Loung falls

asleep.

HER POV GOES OUT OF FOCUS.

20.

EXT. KRANG TRUOP - EARLY MORNING

Loung slowly opens her eyes. Five days after leaving their

home in Phnom Penh, the family arrives at Krang Truop. A

small dusty village surrounded by rice fields as far as the

eye can see.

INT. UNCLE LEANG’S HUT - MORNING

Loung enters Uncle Leang’s hut. Uncle Leang and his wife have

six children, so with the nine new people it makes seventeen

under one roof. There are objects that show Uncle Leang had

been a middle class farmer before the Khmer Rouge took over.

Loung climbs into Pa’s arms.

LOUNG:

The village is so poor.

PA:

(strong)

So are we. And from now on if

anyone asks, we say we are workers.

We can not go back to the city. You

must stop thinking we can go back.

Pa has never spoken to her this way. It finally sinks in. She

trembles with fear. He holds her in his arms as her eyes

water and her lips tremble.

EXT./INT. UNCLE LEANG’S HUT - DAY

Loung’s POV of the rice fields. She removes her clothes and

hands them to Chou who is already washed and in a sarong.

Loung washes herself outside. There is a big round container

that looks like a three-foot-tall clay flowerpot. Then she

reaches into the container and takes a bowl full of water and

pours it over herself.

She becomes shy when she sees her little cousins watching

her.

EXT. UNCLE LEANG’S HUT - DAY

The family clothes hang to dry. Pa helps Uncle repair a fish

trap. He is clumsy because he does not know how to do it

properly. They share a hot tea and smoke tobacco. A NEIGHBOR

is with them.

20A.

NEIGHBOR:

Is it true everyone has evacuated

Phnom Phen? (Pa nods) Did the

Americans bomb the city?

PA:

Angkar asked us to leave. I heard

no bombings.

UNCLE LEANG:

Here, in the village, Americans

have bombed for many years.

Sometimes three days in a row. We

had to harvest during the night.

21.

He pauses deep in thought.

NEIGHBOR:

They destroyed my house. My cows. I

now support the Khmer Rouge

revolution. We want a new society,

without poor people, without rich

people. We don’t need the

capitalists. The land is ours. We

are masters of earth and water.

Nobody answers.

UNCLE LEANG:

If you stay here you must refer to

the village chief. You are from the

city. You must be careful. Angkar

knows everything.

EXT. UNCLE LEANG’S HUT - DAY

Loung wanders away towards a group of kids having a beetle

fight. Geak is loving it. Chou is not so sure.

Kim and Meng and Khouy play around doing handstands, and

teaching their cousins.

Ma and Keave are with the other women.

INT. UNCLE LEANG’S HUT - NIGHT

Lying on wooden planks Loung watches Chou tossing and

turning. Ma sits on a mat nearby holding Geak, who sleeps

quietly in her arms. She looks around the room at her

sleeping family. Loung overhears a discussion underneath the

floorboards. She looks through the slats.

AUNT KEANG:

We cannot keep them with us. We

will be killed.

UNCLE LEANG:

She is my sister.

AUNT KEANG:

You know there is no consideration

for family.

They continue whispering but Loung can’t make out what they

are saying. She looks over at Ma, wondering if she has

heard.

22.

EXT. UNCLE LEANG’S HUT - EARLY MORNING

Loung watching Uncle Leang. Wondering if he will say

anything. Life on the farm starts before the sun rises. The

clothes are now dry on the line.

Washing up. Breakfast. (Scraps to pigs? Feed for chickens?)

EXT. KRANG TRUOP - MORNING

Loung walks into the fields.

Using the traps made last night, they catch fish.

The buffalo’s are brought in to graze.

Loung looks around she cannot shake the feeling someone is

watching her. She looks around anxious.

OMITTED:

Content from Scene 89 has been merged into Scene 77AA.

23.

OMITTED:

Later-

Loung watching her cousins and neighbors play.

Loung walks past Pa who sits quietly outside by himself. She

enters the hut but turns when she hears a cow bell. They both

watch as the Village Chief approaches Uncle Leang. They both

know what this means.

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