User reviews

"Swimming to Cambodia" is an amazing piece of work. One of Spalding Gray's monologue pieces, it features him taking a story that seems like it should have been only mildly interesting and turning it into poetry. Directed by the incomparable Johnathan Demme and featuring music by the brilliant and eccentric Laurie Anderson, Gray recounts his experiences in the filming of "The Killing Fields." Gray's words tell of bizarre, disturbing, exciting and moving experiences in exotic locales. His words move from beautiful to disgusting, hopeful to horrifying, and always with a masterful lyricism that places him as one of the absolute masters of the English language! The book (published 1985) is supposed to be a great read, but the film of Gray himself telling the stories is an experience beyond compare. Spalding Gray's genius will be greatly missed.

One day a couple of years ago, while I was waiting for a television show, I was flipping through the channels and I caught part of Spalding Gray's monologue film -Monster in a Box- and I was so blown away by it that I missed the show that I had been waiting for. I don't know why it took me so long to rent another one of his monologue films, but this week I picked up his first one, -Swimming to Cambodia-. It was good, but nowhere near as good as -Monster in a Box-.

For one thing, -Monster in a Box- was very well directed, and the "special effects" do not get in the way. But in -Swimming to Cambodia-, the sound effects are often too loud, and thecutting is too quick and artsy, when it should have been nothing but slow pans and zooms, sort of like -My Dinner With Andre-. Then there is this awful effect with the lights, basically shutting them off to cut the emotional rhythm. This was unneeded. Gray's performance itself establishes rhythm enough.

My second big complaint is with the monologue itself. It is mostly very interesting, but it is not polished or cohesive. Just as he does in -Monster in a Box-, Gray alternates between very hilarious narrative (such as the descriptions of the sex acts in Thailand) and very harrowing narrative (such as the descriptions of Pol Pot's revolution). That technique works extraordinarily in -Monster in a Box-, but the two halves of the narratives don't seem to do with each other at all. The funny half concerns the work on the movie -The Killing Fields-, and the harrowing half very intensely examines the true story of the Kamir Rouge and America's dealing with these kinds of situations. Also, the monologue seems to end almost arbitrarily.

This film is definitely worth a rental. It is under 90 minutes, which I always count as a plus. But if you want to be impressed, rent -Monster in a Box-. 7/10

I have to admit that the quote from his second video-monologue "I didn't think that I could listen to a person talk for an hour & a half, let alone a man" is the most honest statement I have heard about Spalding Gray. Although I have to admit that his later video-monologues (after Monster In A Box) lacked some of the intensity of his first two (that I am aware of), he has produced a fascinating body of work between his stints as a bit actor. Swimming to Cambodia is an amazing film that I could not dare ruin for those who dare to explore this wonderful, dark and detailed world that Spalding Gray opens up and offers to us to explore. Watch this film, if you dare.

Spalding's 'Swimming to Cambodia' defies the preconceptions often brought to a movie: we get to see one man at a desk, with a lamp and a glass of water, and a map of Cambodia with a pointer to help. And then Gray's amazing ability to hook the listener into his amazing free improvised anecdotes makes it worth a thousand blockbusters. Demme's film prior to this was 'Something Wild'... this is wilder and wittier. Do yourself a favour and watch. Spalding's tragic suicide last year brings a poignant edge to many of his existential observations, but this is uplifting, entertaining, funny and harrowing all in one. And it's a monologue. Sam Shephard once said it was impossible to compare anyone to Spalding, so unique was he. Here's the proof.

It doesn't get much lower-budget than this: A guy sitting at a desk on a stage with a notebook, a pointer, and a map of Cambodia on the wall behind him. And for an hour-and-a-half, he keeps you absolutely mesmerized, by doing little more than talking. The special lighting, cinematography, musical effects, and odd film inserts that Demme's production brings to Gray's monologue (which, like so many of the films I truly love, was performed on a stage before it was brought to the screen) work ever-so-slightly to enhance the performance at certain points, but by and large this is just Spalding Gray, a wonderful story-teller, doing his thing. In terms of bang for your production buck, Swimming to Cambodia has to be right up there with The Blair Witch Project. A great film.

Spalding Gray calls his version of performance art a "talking cure." The facts, opinions, insights, fears and hopes drawn from the epiphany he received from his experiences in the Asian Rim shooting "The Killing Fields" and his education of the plight of the Cambodian people circa early to mid seventies is overwhelming. This is a story of the human condition as told by a master. He is Dr. Frankenstein creating the monster that is ourselves through a tapestry of wordplay that never seems overwrought or cumbersome in the slightest. This movie is one man reading from a standard notebook, behind a plain table accented with a glass of water and shadowed by a ceiling fan and selection of maps. Demme's use of lighting and Laurie Anderson's soundtrack provide all the dramatic power needed to sustain Gray as he literally helps us all better understand life, humanity and our responsibilities to each other while we spend time on this planet. Intense, funny, heartbreaking and invigorating; this movie inspires and changes all who watch it.

Swimming to Cambodia, is deep, insightful and hillarious.

You are caught up in Gray's fast paced account of his time in Thailand and boston and New York and god only knows how many other places, the whole experience is enhanced by the fabulous play on lighting, music and camerawork. You'll find yourself either leaning forward, swept up in the rythum of his speech, and the depth of both detail and insight. or sagging back in your chair as you catch your breath, or on the brink of tears, or clutching your sides as you laugh.

I gave this film a ten, and i'm not easily impressed.

watch this film with friends or on your own as it's perfect for either. But be sure watch it more than once, as it will never get old.

Spalding Gray is an amazing orator. They way he can interweave various story aspects into a narrative patchwork is riveting. As you can tell I'm a big fan of his work and this is probably his best. Directed by Jonathan Demme in a no frills to the bone style. The star of this concert isn't demme or gray, it's the elocution.

Jonathan Demme is a genius, and if you doubt it, see this film. Who else could've made a man sitting at a table talking so riveting? Although Spalding is a great storyteller and great to see live, none of the other films of his monologues have ever touched this one, the first.

See it and you'll never drink Singha again.

Jonathan Demme's directing is something to applaud. It is not easy to make a movie exciting when you just have one man sitting behind the desk talking for an hour and a half. Credit must be given to his and Spaulding Gray's planning of camera angles, editing, lights, simple but effective visuals, and of course Laurie Anderson's great soundtrack. But that's where the fun ends. Spaulding Gray manages to do a convincing job sounding like he's a brilliant observer of life and free nature, but he comes across as sad and arrogant in a weird way. Here's a man who seems to be playing around with moral relativism as he talks about his experiences with prostitutes in Thailand and about understanding why Pol Pot was so ruthless. But while he quietly decried the Killing Fields film director's view that there are moral absolutes in life, I felt uncomfortable. Gray seems to be one of those guys who seems to like pulling down everything in life (if it gets him some attention and makes people think what a smart and amusing guy he is). Oh sure, he definitely has a way with prose and meter as he pours out his speeches in aloof fashion. He is a talented man. But if one were to really agree with his nihilistic outlook on life, I could see not much of a reason for living. And it is even sadder given his suicide that happened years later.

He is wrong. There is purpose to life and there is GOOD as well as evil. So, while the film is a technical masterwork and Gray was no doubt extremely talented, I am am giving it a 5 for his nihilistic message trying to pass as "deep".

This thing is easily characterized as one-of-a-kind film, or at least I didn't ever see a film that even gets close to its context, techniques or style. Basicaly it's a raving, very funny monologue, but then again, much more than this! In 85 mins. it manages to talk about so many matters both serious and funny without making you be bored with it, at least if you 're a serious person, hehe :)

Of course these all are objective, but I loved it!

Spalding Gray discusses his participation in the film "The Killing Fields" (1984) and the background story about the troubles of Cambodia.

On the surface, this is really simple: a man sits at a table with a couple of maps and rambles about his time filming a movie. No further props, no other actors, nothing. But it is also a bit of amazing because Gray not only memorizes the entire ramble, but keeps the audience captivated the whole time -- his stories are actually more interesting than the film he is talking about.

Gray did many monologues, but this is arguably his best. I actually watched it as something of a tribute to director Jonathan Demme, though the question ought to be asked what role a director plays in a film such as this... there is very little executive decision-making, one would think.

First let me tell you -- Spalding Gray was a man who could mesmerize, as his numerous one-man shows are evidence of. This is a "short movie" -- only about 90 minutes instead of a full 2 hours -- but it's positively compelling and makes you wonder why you didn't hear about it, why it didn't get that much publicity in your neck of the woods, etc. until you were lucky enough to stumble across it.

One thing I adore finding are movies that can be paired up as a double feature. An example would be Ed Wood's last film, Plan 9 from Outer Space, together with Tim Burton's homage work, Ed Wood. Watch them together and it's just great. I would also recommend watching The Killing Fields, in which Gray plays a minor role (as the U. S. Consul in Phnom Penh) and this movie, in which he talks about the making of said movie.

Remember that this is a topical movie because it was made in 1987. By that time the infamous "killing fields" were gone and Pol Pot's regime had been driven out of Cambodia by rebels supported by the Vietnamese. However, the Heng Samrin regime was far from democratic and for some strange reason the UN continued to recognize the Khmer Rouge regime -- the one led by Pol Pot -- as the legitimate government of Cambodia in one of history's craziest throws of the cosmic dice. It was not until the early 1990s that peace and democracy finally came to that troubled country.

For quite some years this movie was available only on VHS. I wondered when it would ever come out on DVD. Finally it's available on DVD so I say there's no excuse not to go out and get it.

This movie is totally amazing, one long, mind-blowing story that is by turns riotously funny and utterly chilling. It will restore your faith in the power of a single human being to transport the audience to a whole new place, time, and mind using just WORDS.

The late and truly great Spalding Gray wrote and performed a number of brilliant monologues made into films by significant directors but none really better than "...Cambodia". Jonathan Demme and his cinematographer John Bailey ("Silverado"), as well as composer/"new wave" artist Laurie Anderson, perfectly complement Gray's vision of the here and there, the then and now, as well as history and movie-reality as he talks beautifully and insightfully and with deathly funny vision for over eighty minutes. It's a history lesson, a making-of-"The Killing Fields" and a perfectly bizarre philosophical treatise all at once. Roger Ebert once opined that "My Dinner With Andre" made a good counter-point double feature with "2001". I agree. Then watch Gray's "...Cambodia" after, maybe, "Star Wars"; great movies are wonderful things and come in many shapes and sizes.

This a truly unique film. It is just a man at a desk, with maps behind him, talking. Nothing else happens. Yet it is so spellbinding you don't even dare blink.

When I was a kid my parents would read to us. They would make up different voices for each of the characters. My uncle Tom had a special story-telling voice. He would tell tales about his life and the people he met, relishing the details, letting you experience almost for yourself what happened. Spalding Gray is like that, only a pro.

It is about war, drugs, sexual decadence in Thailand, making movies, relationships, mania... He has so much to tell you. It just comes tumbling out in a rush.

I avoided the movie all these years because I thought it would be just another shoot-em-up.

He opens up his head and lets you in to look around, like a friend who lets you drop in without calling first. He has no embarrassment about his imperfections. He was such an open, lovable, exuberant guy. He committed suicide in 2004 after complications from a car accident made life unbearable.

I wrote a review on this non-movie many years ago when IMDb was new but for some reason the review has been removed. A man sitting behind a desk in a garage talking about his bit part in another movie does not a movie make. I do not understand how this can be classified as a comedy / drama as it is neither. With the exception of some clips from The Killing Fields the entire movie consists of a humorless man babbling on and on about nothing. No entertainment value at all and very difficult to watch. My advise is that if you have the urge to watch this movie slam you hand in a car door instead, it will be less painful than watching this non- movie.

Even if you've seen "The Killing Fields", it's still really good to see "Swimming to Cambodia", as famous monologist (and "Killing Fields" co-star) Spalding Gray explains what all led to the Cambodian genocide. And he manages to make it all humorous! How many people could actually manage to accomplish that?!

Seeing how energetic Spalding Gray was when doing these things, it's all the more surprising that he committed suicide three years ago. But he did, and so this documentary is a relic of his unusual wit. And it's certainly one that I recommend. Jonathan Demme directed a really good one here.

I was lucky to find a copy of Swimming to Cambodia many years ago at the public library. I felt this was lucky indeed because our next-door neighbor is Cambodian and a close personal friend of the man befriended by the reporter in the movie the Killing Fields.

This was at a time in my life that I felt obligated to finish any movie I began watching. I have since learned that life is too short for such indulgences. Partly, or most likely, due to this film. You may have guessed that "lucky" is truly not how I now feel about finding this movie.

In any event as I said I was compelled to watch the entire movie. This turned out to be a task that lasted nearly a week. Each day I would watch as much as I could stand. Others have praised this movie as having humor and insightful knowledge. My poor brain could not grasp most of what was being said. At times it required rewinding to see parts I missed upon awakening.

I truly did not understand the movie. Actually I hesitate to even call it a movie. Really, even though picking up a glass of water to drink during the speech does require movement does that make it a move?.

If you find watching grass grow too exciting you should give this a look, else my recommendation is, well anything else is time better spent. The only exception I can think of is someone smart enough to understand it.

Rating 1 out of 10. I would go lower if possible.

Just for the record, I review very few movies. This is my only negative review.