The Act of Killing

Name: The Act of Killing
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2012-11-01
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 5
Cast: Yapto Soerjosoemarno, Suryono, Sakhyan Asmara, Jusuf Kalla, Haji Anif

A story of killers who win, and the society they build.

Rating

5.0 (1)

Release Date

11/1/2012

Runtime

117 mins

Genres

Documentary

Overview

In this chilling and groundbreaking documentary, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various film genres, from gangster epics to musicals. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia’s 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

Status

Released

Original Language

Indonesian

Budget

$1,000,000

Revenue

$722,714

Homepage

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How It Feels

Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.

A harrowing descent into the minds of unpunished killers who casually reenact their atrocities as entertainment, making the surreal horror of impunity and collective amnesia tangible. The film's formal strangeness, watching real murderers perform their crimes as movie scenes, creates a uniquely unsettling experience that implicates both the perpetrators and the society that absolves them.

Mood

UnsettlingDread-soakedParanoidClaustrophobic

Themes

CorruptionPowerMemoryIdentity

Tone

Matter-of-fact

Pacing

Slow-burn

Look

Documentary-likeHandheld

Structure

Framed flashback

Heads up

Graphic violence

Anwar Congo

Self - Executioner in 1965

Herman Koto

Self - Gangster & Paramilitary Leader

Syamsul Arifin

Self - Governor of North Sumatra

Ibrahim Sinik

Self - Newspaper Publisher

Yapto Soerjosoemarno

Self - Leader of Pancasila Youth

Safit Pardede

Self - Local Paramilitary Leader

Jusuf Kalla

Self - Vice President of Indonesia

Adi Zulkadry

Self - Fellow Executioner in 1965

Suryono

Self - Anwar's Neighbor

Haji Marzuki

Self - Member of North Sumatra Parliament

Haji Anif

Self - Paramilitary Leader & Businessman

Rahmat Shah

Self - Member of Parliament

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