Quick Info
The Act of Killing is the kind of documentary that’s hard to shake off, no matter how many soft comedies you try to binge afterward. It digs into the 1965–66 mass killings in Indonesia, but flips documentary conventions by letting the actual perpetrators—many of whom are unrepentant, elderly and weirdly flamboyant—re-enact their crimes in the style of their favorite Hollywood genres. It sounds absurd, but the result is both deeply unsettling and morbidly fascinating.
What struck me right away is how director Joshua Oppenheimer hands the camera over to thugs like Anwar Congo, giving them a kind of creative control that has to be seen to be believed. You keep waiting for some sort of “gotcha” moment or for the film to drop its poker face, but it never does. Instead, you’re left squirming as Anwar casually films scenes inspired by film noir and cheesy musicals, all while talking about atrocities like they're weekend stories.
The blurred line between performance and confession gives the documentary a surreal vibe that feels more psychological horror than straight history lesson. The tone is purposely uncomfortable. There are moments when you almost laugh at the absurdity, then instantly feel gross because you remember what’s actually being confessed here. It’s a mood I’ve never really had with any other movie, documentary or not.
Cinematography is another highlight. The way Oppenheimer stages these “re-enactments”—including one garish sequence in a pink-washed nightclub—turns the expected true crime doc formula totally inside out. It doesn't look like PBS or BBC fare. Instead, it's visually jarring; somehow both gaudy and haunting. It complements the weird carnival of souls on screen perfectly.
The runtime pushes a bit long (over two hours), and there are stretches where the interviews start blending into each other. Some scenes feel repetitive, hitting the same note over and over until you’re almost numb. If anything, I wish it had trimmed fifteen minutes so the finale would land even heavier, but the slow pacing does add to the hypnotic, nightmarish atmosphere.
Ultimately, The Act of Killing isn’t something you watch for comfort or even traditional enlightenment. You watch it because few films dare to confront evil so head-on, let alone in such a mind-bending and confrontational way. It's not perfect or even “enjoyable” in the standard sense, but it’s a necessary gut punch, and there's nothing else quite like it.
The R8 Take
Unforgettable and uncomfortably brilliant. Watch it if you want your worldview rattled the same way Errol Morris docs do, but be warned—you won’t leave the same.
