Review of The Act of Killing (2012) by Mike N — 03 Mar 2014

Never has there been a documentary as bold, as unique, or as chilling as this. A few decades back, Errol Morris broke new ground with The Thin Blue Line, using reenactments to replace talking heads in the story of a man framed for murder.

But imagine if instead of Morris directing the recreations, he handed the director's chair over to the actual killer. That's exactly what Joshua Oppenheimer did when paramilitary leader and "movie theatre gangster" Anwar Congo complained that he didn't like the demonstration of how to kill a man with wire he'd performed for Joshua's documentary because "I would have never worn white pants".

Thus begins a delusional endeavor on the part of Anwar and his fellow former killers to make a film accurately recreating their killings because "people must know the truth". However, it snowballs, with attempts at "adding humor" (one of the former killers dresses in drag) and dancing killers mixed in with brutal reenactments of genocide (which we know are 100% accurate, as the men go to great lengths to achieve it).

To watch this men in action is astounding. The reenactments are haunting enough, but its when they're not "acting", and speaking frankly about how important the work they did was, that stays with the viewer long after the credits have rolled.

After a time, The Act of Killing ceases to be a document of the genocides, and instead becomes a film about the very nature of evil. There are very few documentaries that are "must see" films.

This earns its place in that category, and perhaps even at the top of the list.