The Act of Killing (2012)

CAMCORDER DOCS III

Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Lynn - 2012 - 82' - Indonesia, USA - Indonesian, English subs

Years after retiring, a group of former anti-communist death squad members agree to tell their stories for the first time on camera. However, they are far from ashamed of their past crimes; they appear to revel in the details, taking the viewer to the sites, even agreeing to reenact the many killings for the camera. And why should they be ashamed? Their side won, and many people in Indonesia still praise them as heroes who stopped the spread of communism. In this award winning documentary, Joshua Oppenheimer masterfully deconstructs his subjects, peeling back layers of false bravado, pride and hatred, revealing the basic, physiological effect the act of killing another human being has on the killer.