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The Act of Killing

2012 · 159 min

A surreal, unsettling descent into the minds of unrepentant killers, blending staged reenactments with raw confession to haunting effect.

Directed by
Joshua Oppenheimer
Genres
Documentary, History
Starring
Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin
Tagline
A story of killers who win and the society they build.
Overview
After befriending documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various American film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

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Stream in the UK
  • BFI Player
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Joshua Oppenheimer
Genres
Documentary, History
Starring
Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • guilt
  • violence
  • power
  • corruption
  • memory
Places
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror6
Humour3
Realism10
Romance0
Tension7
Darkness10
Complexity8
Emotional weight10

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • BFI Player
Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary, history
Directed by
Joshua Oppenheimer
Starring
Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik, Yapto Soerjosoemarno, Safit Pardede, Jusuf Kalla, Adi Zulkadry
Cinematography
Carlos Arango De Montis, Anonymous
Runtime
159 min
Country
Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom
Languages
Indonesian

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