The Act of Killing Documentary Review

The Act of Killing (2012)

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Directed by: Joshua OppenheimerAlex Kurtzman
Starring: Joshua Oppenheimer
Rated: --
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Plot
A documentary about the Indonesian death squad leader of 1965-66 who is now working on an art project to recreate his experience through film.

Verdict
This movie is uncomfortable. Death squad leaders recount their acts of murder with glee. They see themselves as the heroes of the story. As Anwar Congo begins filming his scenes, the reenactment becomes too real as he realizes the terror he inflicted on his victims. He's the only one in this movie that appears to feel any guilt for the crimes committed.
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Review
In 1965 Indonesia experienced a military coup. The new regime then began systematically killing anyone opposing them. Even now, this genocide is not in their history books. Many of the Indonesian crew that helped film this movie declined credit because they are afraid of retribution.

Anwar Congo is creating a movie to document the history of what happened. He was a small time con-man that became the leader of a death squad after the coup. He's a mass murderer reenacting his own memories. Other killers are eager to help him with the project. They reenact scenes with people that could be friends of or even related to the victims.

The Act of Killing - Chilling, emotional, raw.

While Congo wants to document history, others only want to document what makes them look good. They want to be sure the scenes reinforce that Communists were bad and they were performing a public service.

Some of the former lieutenants justify what they did as following orders. A journalist claims he had no idea about the death squads, despite murders happening in his building. His denial is questioned, and while he reaffirms, no one believes him.

The scenes blur the line of what's real. The actors are either stellar or getting so caught up in the scene that it feel real. Maybe they're mentally reliving it. Even watching reenactments are hard to bear. Some of these men feel no remorse whatsoever.

Congo becomes remorseful after a scene in which he pretends he's strangled to death. He halts filming and says he can't do it any more. He states he realizes the fear his victims had.

Oppenheimer questions Congo, telling him that he can't possibly know what they felt. His victims knew they were going to die, while Congo knows it's just an act. This is the penultimate scene in the documentary.

Congo revisits a location where most of his murders took place and begins retching. On film, we see the instant where his sins, murder and torture, catch up to him.