The rendering of nightmare as black comedy is a peculiarly American art form, and Gray at times achieves the mastery of artists like Mark Twain, William Burroughs, and Hunter Thompson.

Like a good preacher, some of [Gray's] power comes from the sheer virtuosity of his speech.

Gray's descriptions are so vivid, you might later find yourself remembering things he recounts in the film as if you saw them with your own eyes.

It is both drama at its most entertaining -- and an enlightening peronal lesson in the history of America's involvement in Cambodia during the Vietnam era.