The Act of Killing (2012) by Joshua Oppenheimer — Movie Discussion
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“'War crimes' are defined by the winners. I'm a winner. So I can make my own definition...” One of the most conceptually innovative and ethically disorientating films in recent memory, The Act of Killing immediately ushered its maker, Joshua Oppenheimer, into the echelon of documentary greats. Eight years in creation, this extraordinary work exhumes an episode of Indonesia’s past the country has yet to reckon with: the genocide of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Indonesians during the anti-communist purge of 1965–1966. The surviving perpetrators, celebrated as heroes by the still-ruling regime that orchestrated the “cleanse,” reenact their mass killings in the style of Hollywood movies they idolize — and from which they disturbingly drew inspiration. Blurring the line between reality and performance, the uncanny result is a captivating and deeply troubling meditation on national trauma, moral impunity, and cinema as an accomplice to human evil.
"The Act of Killing is a horrifying film, a surreal experience that explores the limits of human cruelty. It’s a film that is absolutely hard to watch. It’s also a film that absolutely should be seen." (Rotten Tomatoes)
"A virtually unprecedented social document." (NPR)
"It's one of the most grueling and disturbing films you will ever see but, if you want the truth, essential." (Wall Street Journal)
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Let's discuss the 2012 documentary The Act of Killing (2012) by the American-British filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, recently voted the 123rd greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound's international survey of filmmakers and the 265th greatest movie of all time in the related poll of film critics and scholars. The film won best documentary at the British Academy Film Awards and the European Film Awards in 2013 and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards.
Please watch the movie in advance (122 minutes) and bring your thoughts, reactions, and queries to share with us at the meeting.
You can stream it for free here or rent it on various streaming platforms (for best quality). AVOID THE SHORTER VERSIONS (~90 minutes) that were cut for television audiences. There's also a longer Director's Cut (~160 minutes) which is fine.
A trailer.
Check out other movie discussions in the group, currently happening about once or twice a month.