The Act of Killing

Name: The Act of Killing
Genre: History, Crime, Documentary
Released: July 19, 2013
Duration: 115 min
Rating: 92
Cast: Anwar Congo

2013

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 124 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 124 Ratings

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The Act Of Killing

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Movie Details & Credits

Drafthouse Films | Release Date: July 19, 2013 | Not Rated

Starring: Anwar Congo

Summary: A documentary in which former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass-killings in various cinematic genres.

Director: Anonymous and Christine Cynn and Joshua Oppenheimer

Genre(s): History, Crime, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 115 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Mick LaSalle

Jun 20, 2023

You have never seen anything like this. Read full review

100

Kenneth Turan

Jul 25, 2013

It's a mind-bending film, devastating and disorienting, that disturbs us in ways we're not used to being disturbed, raising questions about the nature of documentary, the persistence of evil, and the intertwined ways movies function in our culture and in our minds. Read full review

100

Peter Debruge

Mar 18, 2013

Never before has anyone made a documentary like The Act of Killing, and the filmmakers seem at a loss in terms of how to organize the many threads of what they capture...Still, essential and enraging, The Act of Killing is a film that begs to be seen, then never watched again. Read full review

100

Rene Rodriguez

Aug 15, 2013

In The Act of Killing, director Joshua Oppenheimer pulls off the impossible: He confronts great, incomprehensible evil and puts a human face on it. Read full review

Bill Goodykoontz

Aug 1, 2013

The Act of Killing is a horrifying film, a surreal experience that explores the limits of human cruelty. It’s a film that is absolutely hard to watch. It’s also a film that absolutely should be seen. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Aug 7, 2013

It comes as little surprise that Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, both masters of sly documentaries in which the subjects nail themselves with their own words, are the executive producers of Oppenheimer’s film. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Jul 26, 2013

The effect is intended to be ghastly – which it certainly is – but I was equally repelled by this film’s conceit. Oppenheimer allows murderous thugs free rein to preen their atrocities, and then fobs it all off as some kind of exalted art thing. This is more than an aesthetic crime; it’s a moral crime. Read full review

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User Reviews

sdogar

Feb 17, 2014

Great documentary. Shows the twisted state of morality in the mind of all the killers like never before in the cinema. The question how some human can do it has been answered by an intelligent concept.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

DrBlahBlah

Oct 31, 2020

One of the most original and disturbing films ever made. A real life Heart of Darkness.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

franissavio

Jul 19, 2013

Have I sinned?
Why man we critics and non-critics enjoyed watching your re-created killings!!! You can feel from all the praises your killing movie received in all film festivals.
Our only question is When will you do the SEQUEL????

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

indiegalaxy10

Jul 29, 2013

Terrific and mind bending experience,the experiences of this poor man and the banality of evil, that is the reason for make it a masterpiece and one of the best documentaries of all time

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Ultimobeaker

Jun 13, 2021

This film is what you would get if the creators of MTV's Punk'd studied surrealist filmmaking and decided to make a sincere genocide documentary. One might think these things to be wholly incompatible, but it works. By presenting the absurdity of mass murderers acting in a fake HollywoodThis film is what you would get if the creators of MTV's Punk'd studied surrealist filmmaking and decided to make a sincere genocide documentary. One might think these things to be wholly incompatible, but it works. By presenting the absurdity of mass murderers acting in a fake Hollywood flick, this film asks you to reflect on the absurdity of real life where the horrific crimes of the victors are normalized. The Act of Killing is a transcendent masterpiece and we will likely never see anything like this again.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LeZee

Feb 15, 2014

The documentary was told from the perspective of ex Indonesian gangster Anwar Congo. His atrocity during 1965 military ruling where he was only a selling black market movie tickets before becoming a notorious gangster. This movie follows when he and his ex partners begin to remember his pastThe documentary was told from the perspective of ex Indonesian gangster Anwar Congo. His atrocity during 1965 military ruling where he was only a selling black market movie tickets before becoming a notorious gangster. This movie follows when he and his ex partners begin to remember his past incidents.

I was uncomfortable throughout. I felt it was disturbing in many parts. Actually, they won't show any cruel stuffs in raw form than just an interview. Now and then they perform to explain us the real act and it becomes 'The Act of Killing'.

This movie largely received critical acclaim. But my stance is just opposite to it because I hated almost all the character from the movie for what they did. Still a good documentary about what most of us was unaware of the real story. Because of this movie we come to know the dark secrets.

These people tell their hidden secrets and feel what they did was an unforgivable sin. They came from lower class and they did it for good living. Suppose if they did not, someone would have done it. Many are backed off from the interview in the middle of the documentary, but Anwar Congo stayed till the end to give his side story.

The director should be appreciated for his effort. He took nearly a decade to make this film. It is obvious that in the end he was confused over how to wrap it, but somehow he managed to do so. The most favourite to win Oscar. I am not in favour of this movie to win because it was told from cruel people and their dirty works. If you hear the same story from the innocent victim's perspective that would melt you emotionally.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

hoops2448

Sep 11, 2013

Going into The Act of Killing I expected to be shocked and appalled and I was but not for the reasons I imagined. A fearless look at a group of people alive today and their inner most thoughts about a dark time in Indonesian history. The kicker? These people are monsters and director JoshuaGoing into The Act of Killing I expected to be shocked and appalled and I was but not for the reasons I imagined. A fearless look at a group of people alive today and their inner most thoughts about a dark time in Indonesian history. The kicker? These people are monsters and director Joshua Oppenheimer is unfortunately giving them a voice. The film follows Oppenheimer as he interviews a group of Indonesian death squad executioners responsible for the mass communist genocide that took place in 1965, a horrific period in Indonesian history carried out by these so called subjects. The film is crass and lacks any kind of remorse as it ridicules the children of those who died, shows the wonderful lives that these killers now have and glorifies an action that took over a million lives. The Act of Killing is a disgraceful picture designed to disturb as to inspire action. However Oppenheimer must know the futility of his struggle and the inevitability of his failure so his creation of this rubbish only serves to entertain his interviewees. Not only does the film give them a pulpit to shout out their propaganda but it also treats it all as alright, a necessary evil. The Act of Killing breaks the cardinal rule of documentary film making, it doesn't have anything in it worth telling the rest of the world, it doesn't have a purpose beyond mocking the dead.… Expand

5 of 18 users found this helpful513

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