Get the best new trailers in under a minute, including Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
Related lists from IMDb editors
Related lists from IMDb users
Title: The Act of Killing (2012)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Anwar Congo | ... | Himself - Executioner in 1965 | |
 |
Herman Koto | ... | Himself - Gangster and Paramilitary Leader |
|
|
Syamsul Arifin | ... | Himself - Governor of North Sumatra |
|
|
Ibrahim Sinik | ... | Himself - Newspaper Publisher |
|
|
Yapto Soerjosoemarno | ... | Himself - Leader of Pancasila Youth |
|
|
Safit Pardede | ... | Himself - Local Paramilitary Leader |
|
|
Jusuf Kalla | ... | Himself - Vice President of Indonesia |
|
|
Adi Zulkadry | ... | Himself - Fellow Executioner in 1965 |
|
|
Soaduon Siregar | ... | Himself - Journalist |
|
|
Suryono | ... | Himself - Anwar's Neighbor |
|
|
Haji Marzuki | ... | Himself - Member of North Sumatra Parliament (as Marzuki) |
|
|
Haji Anif | ... | Himself - Paramilitary Leader and Businessman |
|
|
Rahmat Shah | ... | Himself - Member of Parliament |
|
|
Sakhyan Asmara | ... | Himself - Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport |
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
While I recommend you see "The Act of Killing", the context for the film is missing. I think the filmmakers felt that it wasn't necessary but I am pretty sure younger audiences will feel a bit confused by what has happened. So, the retired history teacher in me will briefly give an overview that I wish had come when the film began: President Sukarno was the first president of Indonesia He was a strong nationalist who worked to gain independence from the Dutch. As the years passed, his administration forged closer and closer alliances with the left--particularly the communists. However, when Suharto deposed Sukarno in a coup, he ushered in an era of fascist-like repression. Suddenly, murder squads sprung up throughout the country and communists and the Chinese minority were targeted for extermination. During this period (mostly from 1965-7), approximately a million people were murdered--often very brutally.
Now, decades later, filmmakers have come to Indonesia to interview folks who were responsible for some of these murders. And, surprisingly, they find that not only are these folks rather unrepentant, but that the culture of murdering the opposition still thrives. For example, Pancasila Youth is a paramilitary organization much like the Nazi SS and SA. They were the folks behind the murders and today STILL are several million member strong--and they are proud of this. What's worse, the government is strongly aligned with them and the film shows the nation's Vice President talking to them and giving his assent for their violence. While the filmmakers did not get interviews with these higher ups, they did get others responsible for the murders to be interviewed and even recreate the killings for the audience! Oddly, they seemed very cooperative and smiled throughout--as if they were very proud of being mass murderers.
As far as the film goes, it is an amazing portrait of evil--especially since many of these folks look very ordinary. Monsters can have families, friends and even be pillars of society...but they are monsters. This is the great message of the film. And, because of this it is invaluable and worthy of receiving the Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. It is worth seeing.
While I strongly recommend the film as it is brave and outstanding in what it achieved, it also is overlong. And, sadly, while the film shows evil up close, after a while it all becomes rather boring. Shortening it a bit here and there would have made it more poignant. Still, it is a must-see film. With a slight editing, I would have scored this film a 10.