The Act Of Killing Analysis

An absurd and chilling documentary directed by Joshua Oppenheimer about how the perpetrators of one atrocious political purge are still enjoying impunity along with power in public even after more than 50 years. With an unorthodox filmmaking process at its center what is shown through that process is as hilariously terrible as the corrupt social environment surrounding it. Although watching this film it may seem too absurd to be reality it did in fact occur. In the opening scenes we are given a brief history lesson in 1965 the Indonesian government was overthrown by the military. Anyone opposed to the military dictatorship could be accused of being a communist. We learn in less than a year more than one million “communists” were killed with

The killers in “The Act of Killing” seem to have no interest in denying or minimizing their crimes. On the contrary, they are candid, even boastful about what they have done, and eager to share their recollections of torture and murder. The documentary focuses on Anwar Congo who originally was a small time gangster who then came to lead the most notorious death squad in North Sumatra. When we are first introduced text appears on screen next to him his name Anwar Congo and title executioner. Responsible for killing an unknown number of suspected communists he’s given the chance to recount his experiences in a novel way, capitalizing on the enthusiasm he and others showed when discussing what they had done. Oppenheimer has the former Indonesian death-squad leaders reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, whether its musical number about their victims thanking them for killing them or a classic Hollywood crime

All throughout the film appears masterfully crafted flowing from each scene to the next smoothly. The quality of the film itself runs counter to the scenes shot by the thugs in which awful makeup, shoddy special effects, and over the top costumes are used. The subjects state that they were influenced by American crime movies such as Scarface and The Godfather. They would watch these films and then try to emulate the characters they saw on screen recreating hellish murder scenes with whatever unfortunate “Communist” was given over to them by the government. Although they cite Scarface and The Godfather as direct influences on both their tactics and their swanky fashion sense. It's also clear that their madness stems from something deeper in the country's fabric. They were not driven mad by the movies they saw but rather through the country’s systemic fanaticism and brutality, which is celebrated by both the politicians and the media who merrily praise the men's noble "extermination"