In an interview with the New York Times about her new feature First They Killed My Father, Angelina Jolie described how directing the movie led her to reevaluate her life at home. As the Times describes it, “[Jolie] intimated that First They Killed My Father might have informed her decision to leave Mr. Pitt.†The movie is based on the memoir of Loung Ung, who was 7 years old when the Cambodian genocide began, and follows her through her stint as a child soldier until she is reunited with her family. “Loung had such horrors in her life but also had so much love, and that is why she’s all right today,†Jolie told the Times. “That is something I need to remember.â€
Jolie said the family’s transition, including her decision to buy a new house after spending nine months in a rental following the split, was difficult. “It took me a few months to realize that I was really going to have to do it,†she said. “That there was going to have to be another base regardless of everything. That there was going to have to be a home. Another home.†Working on the movie helped, she said, as did her brood of six: “They really help me so much. We’re really such a unit,†she said, likening them to a fraternity. “They’re the best friends I’ve ever had. Nobody in my life has ever stood by me more.â€