The Act of Killing

Oppenheimer’s acclaimed documentary earned him a European Film Award, a BAFTA and an Oscar® nomination. Following in the tradition of master documentary makers Werner Herzog and Errol Morris – both of whom have put their names on the project –  explores the extremes of the human mind. Oppenheimer himself describes it as “a documentary of the imagination.” More than merely documenting the atrocities committed by the film’s main protagonist Anwar Congo, a member of the powerful paramilitary organization Pemuda Pancasila, The film highlights the impunity with which he – like the various leaders who also appear – can flaunt his role in the persecution of communists in modern-day Indonesia. From 1965 to 1966, this witch hunt culminated in the mass murder of possibly more than million communists, suspected communists and other opponents to the Suharto regime. To demonstrate how the atrocities have been whitewashed, Oppenheimer takes the unusual step of inviting Congo and his companion Herman Koto to enthusiastically act out their deeds in several of their favorite film genres – war film, western, gangster movie and musical – with accompanying explanations of how the executions were inspired by Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Wayne. The title, then,  refers not only to the act of murder itself but also to the of the murders. Notably, around 60 Indonesian members of the film crew, including a co-director, chose to appear anonymously in the credits.