The Act of Killing (2012)
 |
Review #1,038 |
THE SCOOP
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Plot: 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.
Genre: Documentary / History
Awards: Won Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Paronama Audience Award (Berlin). Nom. for 1 Oscar - Best Documentary
Runtime: 159min (director's cut)
Rating: NC16 for disturbing themes and images.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“Why did I have to kill
them? I had to kill... My conscience
told me they had to be killed.”
This
documentary is difficult to watch and write about. It is also unlike anything I have ever
seen. Winning major awards at the Berlin
International Film Festival, The Act of
Killing could very well be re-titled as 'The Art of Killing', and it would
still have worked.
It
centers on both the act and the art of murder as it were. The subjects are
interviewed about the 1965 mass killings of Chinese communists in Indonesia, at
the same time re-enacting some of the scenes, including that of torture, which
played out at that time. These subjects
are not eyewitnesses, but executioners.
Directed
by Joshua Oppenheimer and supported majorly by the Danish Film Institute, The Act of Killing is a bold yet
unsettling look at history through the memories of the killers. They have families and lead normal
lives. They walk freely, as if absolved
of their guilt.
The
Director's Cut runs close to 160 minutes, most of which follow three persons
who played leading roles in the massacre.
They reminisce in detail how they executed the communists in brutal,
efficient ways, even recreating scenarios for the camera. More bizarrely, they also film themselves as
characters in an anti-communist propaganda movie that they are planning to
shoot.
It
is a disturbing documentary in many ways, but powerful enough to keep you
interested, though not necessarily riveted.
It probes a very troubling part of Indonesian history not with justice
in mind, but to expose hidden truths.
These aren't confessions, but unflinching testimonies of the
guilty. Seemingly nonchalant about the
gravity of their crimes, these subjects speak as if they are masters of their
own fate.
As
viewers, it is essential to judge them.
To kill is to sin, whatever the circumstance. Politics is never an excuse. Every frame they are in, we judge their
actions. Yet we are also mindful that by
getting in front of the camera, these people are exposing themselves in the
name of historical authenticity.
In
this regard, The Act of Killing is
not a document of distortion, but one seeking clarity. It inevitably opens a deep wound of hatred
and suffering, but in the process a strange, unexpected, even disturbing sense
of catharsis occurs.
It
is a catharsis through art and act, and when they culminate, the wound closes
differently. There is no justice, but at
least there is solace in the truth.
Oppenheimer's work is truly one of the most important documentaries of
recent times.
Verdict: Disturbing, powerful and difficult to watch,
but it is unlike anything I have ever seen.
GRADE: A- (8.5/10 or 4 stars)
Tweet
Follow @Filmnomenon
Click here to go back to Central Station.
Comments