emuir-1 How many films have we seen set in decaying far away third world locations, way beyond the reach of law and order and inhabited by the detrius of the Western World, each with a shady past and all living on the edge. These films usually have as their title the name of the city in which they are set, Casablanca, Algiers, Maroc, Hong Kong, Shanghai - as long as it is exotic and off the beaten track, City of Ghosts is no exception. In the 1940s it would have been named Pnomg Peng and starred Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Gale Sondegaard, Marlene Deitrich, Hedy Lamaar, Jean Gabin and other favorites of the genre. All the requisite characters are there. All twisted, corrupt and ready to sell their own mothers at a snap of the fingers.The French exile Emile, owner of a run down hotel and bar, who may have been left over from the French colonization of Indo China and has no home in France, or maybe he is an escaped convict, or a deserter from the Foreign Legion. Who knows, he might be any and all of these things. He knows his way around, understands his low life customers, who to deal with, which palms to grease and more importantly - when.Other main characters comprise the not -quite-good guy around whom the story is built, the successful con man who might have gone in for one con too many, the corrupt general, the bar girls (boys) and of course, the decent clean western girl visiting old temples and naively treading her delicate way through the mud and filth.Cambodia is shown as a near derelict run down ruin of a place, crumbling buildings, dirt roads, rubbish strewn everywhere, although there are some glimpses of lovely homes and attractive gardens. I was reminded of "The Quiet American", "Brokedown Palace" and "Beyond Rangoon" the westerner suddenly cast adrift in a very different world. If you like to lose yourself in an intricate thriller set in foreign parts, with nostalgia for the film noir genre, I can recommend this film.

filmjan Don't know about the story and all. But having been to Combodia, all the crazyness makes a lot of sense! Great shots of the country and Dillon has got a really good feel for it. OK, the characters and parts of the story seem a bit far fetched. But knowing the country some of this stuff is not too far of! Great movie I thought! Some of the characters hanging around at that hotel are just like the people I saw back there. Also, quite a few amateur actors..which is really cool I admit though, If this film would take place in a country that I do not personally know I would probably not get much out of it. But in any way I think it is underrated lots.

RARubin Cambodia and Thailand, the old colonial streets still give a foreigner a dread. As one of the characters in this monsoon thriller said, "the whole country could use a coat of paint." Matt Dillon is the insurance executive caught up in a scandal that he needs to rectify, maybe, if he can locate the company chief executive, the mysterious and shifty Marvin. On the way to rain forests, Dillon meets up with pretty Natacha McEthone, a member of group of antiquity restorers. Then the usual seedy characters show up at the rancid hotel. James Caan as Marvin and Gerard Deprardieu as the indo-chin innkeeper fill out the cast. Then Dillon's passport is stolen and on and on for two hours we take a tour of the countryside, the natives, and the brothels.Dillon directed and co-wrote the script and I think that is a problem. City of Ghosts is too long and the Dillon-McElhone romance is forced. I mean if you're afraid for your life, are you going to take the time to ask a girl out on a date? Hmmm, maybe not, so Dillon loved his directorial takes so much, he could not cut them, and some studio guy insisted on a love interest. In addition, it's weird, but Dillon as an adventurer, Bogart type in Cambodia: he still delivers some lines as though he were still in a teen rumble.

kalapov I've seen the movie "blindly" (citing one of the comments) and the feeling was for story not so good but having excellent "screen life" – the picture was not boring, with VERY good camera (do you remember how the camera was jumping intriguingly just for a part of second on various objects, over tiny details and fugitive images suggesting the plot). The song of Marvin was impressive and highlighting. Depardieu is notable as usual. The love thread is banal. For Cambodia - yet its tragedy remains unrevealed for the screen and stories like this remain only amusing except the real scenery and original faces. It's worth to see and to think.