The Act of Killing

Surreal, experimental Oscar-nominated documentary (executive produced by masters Werner Herzog and Errol Morris) based on the experiences of former members of Indonesian death squads. Director Joshua Oppenheimer asks these men to re-enact the murders they committed - after the pro-communist Indonesian government was violently overthrown by the army in 1965 - in their favourite film genres. The resulting dramatisations take gangster, western and musical forms in what Oppenheimer calls "a documentary of the imagination."

"In the year following the Indonesian military coup of 1965, pro-regime paramilitaries of the Pancasila Youth and sadistic criminals killed more than a million alleged Communists. These murders went unpunished and the perpetrators are still powerful, influential people who can rely on the support of corrupt politicians. These men proudly recall their struggle against the Communists and demonstrate their efficient methods of slaughter.

"Slim Anwar Congo and portly Herman Koto are delighted when the film's directors ask them to re-enact these murders for their documentary. They zealously set about finding actors, designing elaborate costumes and discussing possible scenarios... But eventually the film project gets these men to talk about and reflect upon their actions as they have never done before. Congo says that for the first time he felt what his victims must have felt. It begins to dawn on him exactly what he did to hundreds of people. The reconstruction of reality has become more real for these men than their actions originally were." (Berlin Film Festival)

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