The Act of Killing

(Director's Cut)

2 / 2 directing & technical aspect
2 / 2 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
1 / 1 writing
1 / 1 originality
1 / 1 lasting ability to make you think

0 / 1 misc

10 out of 10

I have never seen a film like this. Joshua Oppenheimer does an excellent job allowing the main characters to reveal themselves in the way of their choosing. By the end of the film, you are left with a sense of how each of the men has managed the atrocities they committed.

The film provides a newfound appreciation for the depths of violence to which humans can reach in the normal ebbs and flows of political rhetoric.

A truely unique documentary. Not only does the director talk to some of the people responsible for mass murders of commies in Indonesia but he also enlists them in a project to make a movie about their experiences. They then go on and even mix together diffrent genres (musicals, ganster film, etc.) for their story. This gives it a rather surreal vibe but it underlines the thinking of the perpetrators. The way they openly - without regret - talk about their past actions is disturbing. Needless to say there is a climax to the movie and it's all captured with just the camera rolling. I now might also know how "sick to the stomach" sounds like. Well worth for some astonishing scenes and it only occasionally drags on.
As of now, there seem to be three different versions: a 115 minute cut for the festival release, a directors cut of 159 minutes (the one I watched and belive is really the real one (matches RT)) and another one that is unfinished and apperantly is shared in Indonesia (official screenings are not permitted there). The last one has some credits/scenes in it which were removed for the "proper" release for security reasons (many credits have been listed as anon).

This is so different. I don't know what and how to feel after watching this documentary.

This is the only movie I have every watched that I have ever wanted to scream at. The (actors? murderers?) enjoy reenacting and reminiscing so much it's sickening. One of the most powerful moments was when the man responsible for leading the paramilitary organization responsible said that killing people with piano wire was the most "humane" way to exterminate the communists and that they didn't want to look like bloodthirsty animals on the film (or something to this extent). I love absurd movies, especially violent or shocking ones. But when you know it's all real - the murders, the torture, the smiles as they reenact it all - it's completely different.
[spolier]Anwar looks like he finally starts to realize at the end what he did was wrong, but he won't even say for sure. He seems so conflicted.[/spolier]
At any rate, it's a slow burn but very much worth a watch. If you ever need a movie that's the perfect definition for the "banality of evil" this is it. Hang around, make a movie, smoke a cigar, casually talk about how much you enjoy raping 14 year old girls and genocide **on camera**. There are more of these moments, too many to list. Watch this film.

In modern-day Indonesia, a British documentarian gains access to several high-ranking members of the death squads that purged their nation of communism during the late 1960s. Over a million accused lost their lives in this genocide, many sent to a speedy demise on the back of fabricated evidence, and fifty years later, the executioners show little remorse. More the opposite: in recalling their hands-on role in the murders, the old gangsters beam with pride, freely share the secrets of their methods (a garrote, for example, means less cleanup) and boast of their quadruple-digit kill counts. Filmmakers loosened these lips by promising artistic freedom in a cinematic retelling of their old handiwork, but it doesn’t seem like the killers needed much convincing. They’re thrilled by the opportunity to shout their guilt to the world and can’t (or won’t) accept the possibility that they’ll be seen as anything less than the honorable, patriotic heroes they are in their own minds.

It’s a surreal experience, watching these men speak so openly about such loathsome acts while toying with their grandchildren and flaunting their collections of tacky crystal tchotchkes. Their audacity is baffling, but also hypnotizing. Doubly so when the conversation spans months and we begin to spot blemishes in that front of self-assuredness. As production of their own fantastical, self-directed short film concludes, we see the flicker of guilt blossom into a full-blown crisis of conscience for at least one participant. This doesn’t keep him from gleefully cheering the absurd, colorful, playful song and dance number he’s helped create as commemoration of his life’s work. The same short meta-film climaxes with an executed man expressing gratitude for his own murder.

_The Act of Killing_ is a genuinely shocking film; a rarity in the modern climate. Its bare depictions of self-deception are haunting, especially when contrasted with the fleeting occasions its subjects are finally, truly honest with themselves. I didn’t enjoy this and I don’t even know if I’m glad I watched it. An important document, but not a pleasant watch, it’s one you’ll absorb in stunned silence and soon try to forget. While it falls short on technical and cinematic levels, its sources are incredible and its message cuts deep. Just don’t be misled by the cover art. This is some dark, dark shit.