2012 · documentary
The Act of Killing
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer1h 57m2012
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.
Our read: The Act of Killing (2012) reads as a heavy, measured, surreal documentary entry — extreme in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.
Heavy, measured, extreme documentary, surreal in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.
- heavy
- measured
- intense
- inventive
- bleak
- cold
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Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
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How The Act of Killing feels to watch.
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What watching it is actually like.
“You can face a documentary where perpetrators perform their own horrifying past.”
Skip it tonight — You need anything escapist; this will sit with you for days.
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