Left: Sean Flynn and right Sean Flynn and Dana Stone left Phnom Penh for the Cambodian frontline in 1970 and never returned.By Walter Addiego,
The San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Road to Freedom
Drama. Directed by Brendan Moriarty. With Joshua Fredric Smith, Scott Maguire, Nhem Sokun.(Rated R. 93 minutes. At Bay Area theaters. Opens Monday.)
In April 1970, two Americans left the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, on motorbikes, heading for the Kampong Cham province to look for Khmer Rouge guerrillas. The two men, photojournalists Sean Flynn (the son of actor Errol Flynn) and Dana Stone, never returned.
"The Road to Freedom" (which opens Monday) is an indie movie made by Brian Moriarty, who was 20 when he produced and directed it. The truth of what happened to Flynn and Stone is uncertain, so the film is a dramatization. Flynn's mother, actress Lili Damita, spent a lot of money trying to find him, and he was finally declared dead in 1984. A handsome man who had appeared in a handful of movies, Flynn was 28 when he disappeared.
The movie, shot on location in Cambodia, clearly had a modest budget. The basic story is that Flynn and Stone (played by Joshua Fredric Smith and Scott Maguire) fall into the hands of the Khmer Rouge, where their brutal treatment is somewhat alleviated by a helpful Cambodian civilian (Nhem Sokun).
The problem is that the film, though heartfelt, isn't very good. The script is stilted ("Whatever is going on here is bigger than you and me both") and the acting ranges from amateurish to acceptable.
Flynn's name briefly returned to the news columns in March 2010 when two amateur archaeologists, working at a site in Kampong Cham believed by some researchers to be a mass grave for foreign journalists, found what they thought might be his remains. Forensic tests demonstrated that the bones were not Flynn's.
E-mail Walter Addiego at waddiego@sfchronicle.com.
The Road to Freedom
Drama. Directed by Brendan Moriarty. With Joshua Fredric Smith, Scott Maguire, Nhem Sokun.(Rated R. 93 minutes. At Bay Area theaters. Opens Monday.)
In April 1970, two Americans left the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, on motorbikes, heading for the Kampong Cham province to look for Khmer Rouge guerrillas. The two men, photojournalists Sean Flynn (the son of actor Errol Flynn) and Dana Stone, never returned.
"The Road to Freedom" (which opens Monday) is an indie movie made by Brian Moriarty, who was 20 when he produced and directed it. The truth of what happened to Flynn and Stone is uncertain, so the film is a dramatization. Flynn's mother, actress Lili Damita, spent a lot of money trying to find him, and he was finally declared dead in 1984. A handsome man who had appeared in a handful of movies, Flynn was 28 when he disappeared.
The movie, shot on location in Cambodia, clearly had a modest budget. The basic story is that Flynn and Stone (played by Joshua Fredric Smith and Scott Maguire) fall into the hands of the Khmer Rouge, where their brutal treatment is somewhat alleviated by a helpful Cambodian civilian (Nhem Sokun).
The problem is that the film, though heartfelt, isn't very good. The script is stilted ("Whatever is going on here is bigger than you and me both") and the acting ranges from amateurish to acceptable.
Flynn's name briefly returned to the news columns in March 2010 when two amateur archaeologists, working at a site in Kampong Cham believed by some researchers to be a mass grave for foreign journalists, found what they thought might be his remains. Forensic tests demonstrated that the bones were not Flynn's.
E-mail Walter Addiego at waddiego@sfchronicle.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment