The Act of Killing

Joshua Oppenheimer, Norway/Denmark/UK 2012. 115mins. Certificate 15

Described by Werner Herzog as “unprecendented in the history of cinema”, Joshua Oppenheimer’s film is an astoundingly creative approach to the art of documentary that demands, as Errol Morris says, “another way of looking at reality”.

As leader of a death squad in the 1960s, Anwar Congo took part in Indonesia’s violent crackdown against ‘communists’ – a crackdown that killed one million people. He claims to be personally responsible for 1,000 of these deaths. Rather than be punished for his crimes, Anwar is a celebrated as a national hero.

The Act of Killing is about him and his friends, and it is about the culture of impunity that allows them to perpetuate the myth of heroism. But Joshua Oppenheimer lets them tell their own story: realising they were huge film fans, he invited them to make short films, in any genre, about their crimes.

The result is as bizarre as it is shocking, and the banality with which the protagonists relay their crimes – in he style of everything from Westerns to dramatic musical numbers – provides an unsettling insight into the dangerous lasting effects of denied justice on both victims and perpetrators. This is not to be missed.

★★★★★ ‘”The most compelling thing you’ll ever see” – THE GUARDIAN

★★★★★ “Shatteringly powerful” THE SUNDAY TIMES

★★★★★ “An utterly fascinating, chilling, but important film” INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

★★★★★ “Simply the best film of the year” METRO

★★★★★ “Staggeringly original” TIME OUT