Bizarre, hypnotic, audacious.
The Act of Killing
A story of killers who win and the society they build.
2012 · 1h 57m · Not Rated
Documentary, History
Directed by
Joshua Oppenheimer
,
Christine Cynn
Overview
In this chilling and groundbreaking documentary, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia’s 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The emotional places this troubling movie takes him to are rewardingly primal and potent, forcing both subject and viewer to wrestle with internal demons.
I certainly do not move that the film should be suppressed, only that one should know what it is. It is a bath in a smiling madness.
This stunning "documentary of the imagination" shows Anwar and other thugs staging scenes of torture and murder for the camera.
In The Act of Killing, director Joshua Oppenheimer pulls off the impossible: He confronts great, incomprehensible evil and puts a human face on it.
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