The Act of Killing Review

Could you sleep at night if you had somebody's death on your hands? How about the deaths of hundreds of innocent people? Thousands? The Act of Killing is a chilling and terrifying documentary that follows the lives of infamous mass murderers in Indonesia. Men who graduated from simple street hustlers to committing government sanctioned war crimes during the 1965 purge of communism from Indonesia. Their satisfied recounts of what they perceive as the glory days all the while filming elaborate and feverishly insane staged reproductions of said events will disturb anyone with an ounce of humanity. But while morally depraved these men are the center of the most mesmerizing and fascinating in-depth look into their guilt ridden psyche and the power of documentary film making. The ability to expose, enlighten and edify that which most deserves a thorough examination and evaluation.

The film mainly follows Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry who are both single handedly responsible for the deaths of thousands of so-called Communists. They are heralded as heroes and speak frankly and proudly of the atrocities they have committed. These unremorseful recounts of their exploits are tough to stomach and their recent foray into film making have them obsessively recreating the events of their youth. The documentary is unprecedented as the film makers allow the men who perpetrated these crimes to document their version of the events. By the end of the film the realization that these vicious men still view themselves as necessary instruments to the existence of the entirely corrupt modern government is profoundly disturbing. But the genius behind the film is the unwavering and inescapable mirror it holds up to its subjects. All leading up to the gut-wrenching last scene. An unflinchingly raw depiction that no matter what flimsy justification these men have told themselves or how these men outwardly project themselves, the horrors of what they have done and the irreparable damage they've done to themselves has left them in such a deep-seated state of anguish it's crippling.

( 5 out of 5)