My film isn't a snuff movie, it tells one of modern history's most important stories – a genocide where the perpetrators 'won', and continue to live as national heroes
For more than a year I have been presenting my film, The Act of Killing, to audiences around the world. The documentary investigates how 500,000 Indonesians were murdered in the 1950s and 60s, at the hands of a government that is still in power. Often after screenings, viewers approach me to say they had been afraid to see the film, because they'd heard the film is graphically violent – one commentator has even likened it to a snuff movie – or that survivors play themselves in re-enactments. Then they tell me they're glad they came, because neither of those things are true: the film is not violent, and all those appearing in the re-enactments are perpetrators, paramilitary leaders, and their immediate family members – that is,...
For more than a year I have been presenting my film, The Act of Killing, to audiences around the world. The documentary investigates how 500,000 Indonesians were murdered in the 1950s and 60s, at the hands of a government that is still in power. Often after screenings, viewers approach me to say they had been afraid to see the film, because they'd heard the film is graphically violent – one commentator has even likened it to a snuff movie – or that survivors play themselves in re-enactments. Then they tell me they're glad they came, because neither of those things are true: the film is not violent, and all those appearing in the re-enactments are perpetrators, paramilitary leaders, and their immediate family members – that is,...
- 2/26/2014
- by Joshua Oppenheimer
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★★ In Indonesia between 1965 and 1966, and following a failed coup attempt against the Sukharno government, military and paramilitary groups killed over 500,000 people in a bloody purge of suspected communists and ethnic Chinese. The killings paved the way for Suharto's thirty-year military dictatorship and are still celebrated today as a foundational event in the nation's history. Joshua Oppenheimer's gruelling but inspired The Act of Killing (2012) doesn't offer a straightforward history lesson, but rather we're privy to the reminiscences of Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry, two 'veterans' with genocidal pasts.
- 11/25/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
You won’t see a more important film this year—or possibly this decade—than The Act of Killing. It is a film of discerning complexity that makes us question our understanding of morality and forces us to confront the ramifications of history by presenting a situation where the ostensible bad guys won. What is right and what is wrong if our belief system is not ubiquitous? How can there be truth and reconciliation if the perpetrators won’t be reconciled? The Act of Killing is a haunting and powerful documentary that reveals the banality of evil before our very eyes.
In 1965 following a failed coup in Indonesia, a group called the Pancasila Youth was given the authority to form death squads to round up and murder millions of alleged communists. Members of those death squads, including the film’s main focus named Anwar Congo and Herman Koto, are alive...
In 1965 following a failed coup in Indonesia, a group called the Pancasila Youth was given the authority to form death squads to round up and murder millions of alleged communists. Members of those death squads, including the film’s main focus named Anwar Congo and Herman Koto, are alive...
- 8/23/2013
- by Sean Hutchinson
- LRMonline.com
The Act of Killing
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
Norway, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, 2012
The worst, most oblivious parts of humanity are on display in the strange and striking new documentary The Act of Killing. Hyperbolic or not, it’s hard to imagine many other documentaries quite like this one, in which the director calls upon many of its participants to reenact, as they please, a number of harrowing and gruesome events from 40 years ago. Whatever else can be said about this film, there may be no greater compliment to offer it than saying the prospect of rewatching The Act of Killing is impossible to imagine. This is not a world worth revisiting, because it’s our own.
In 1965, the Indonesian government was overthrown by the military, which has been comfortably in place ever since, even (or especially) after various gangsters were put in charge of putting down anyone who would oppose this dictatorship,...
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer
Norway, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, 2012
The worst, most oblivious parts of humanity are on display in the strange and striking new documentary The Act of Killing. Hyperbolic or not, it’s hard to imagine many other documentaries quite like this one, in which the director calls upon many of its participants to reenact, as they please, a number of harrowing and gruesome events from 40 years ago. Whatever else can be said about this film, there may be no greater compliment to offer it than saying the prospect of rewatching The Act of Killing is impossible to imagine. This is not a world worth revisiting, because it’s our own.
In 1965, the Indonesian government was overthrown by the military, which has been comfortably in place ever since, even (or especially) after various gangsters were put in charge of putting down anyone who would oppose this dictatorship,...
- 8/2/2013
- by Josh Spiegel
- SoundOnSight
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.