The Act of Killing is a very innovative performative documentary. In a refreshing approach to documentary filmmaking, the perpetrators of mass murder in Indonesia in the 1960s reenact their vicious acts. In modern day Indonesia, the same regime remains in power. They continue to speak openly about what could only be described as a genocide; in fact, they boast proudly about their methods to Joshua (who speaks Indonesian off-camera), who won a MacArthur Genius grant after making this film to finish his trilogy. The reenactments are very real, emotions flow, and the eyes of the actors/victims scream terror then someone yells 'cut' and they break. It is replete with extravagant costumes and gruesome makeup. It all culminates in Anwar Congo, the most vicious of the perpetrators and the focus of the film, playing the part of a victim and breaking down. Oppenheimer gets Congo to feel guilt and sympathy for his many victims in a moment that displays the immense power of film.
Despite the heavy subject matter, there are some funny moments as well. Their normal daily banter is actually quite comical. What is perhaps so striking is that these killers come off as regular people (at least in the first half) with families that go to the movies and sing and dance, and then we find out the terrible things that they did and the lack of remorse they feel. Soe Marching, an Indonesian academic, compares the film to Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem and the Banality of Evil. Evil people are not all genius sociopaths, but rather ordinary people do terrible things perhaps without thinking too much about it.
My one complaint is that the movie is a little long, but I look forward to what other innovations Joshua Oppenheimer will bring to documentaries in the rest of his trilogy.
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