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IMDbPro

The Act of Killing

  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
39K
YOUR RATING
The Act of Killing (2012)
A documentary that examines a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of the American movies they love.
Play trailer2:13
10 Videos
59 Photos
DocumentaryBiographyCrime

A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and l... Read allA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.

  • Directors
    • Joshua Oppenheimer
    • Anonymous
    • Christine Cynn
  • Stars
    • Anwar Congo
    • Herman Koto
    • Syamsul Arifin
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.2/10
    39K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Joshua Oppenheimer
      • Anonymous
      • Christine Cynn
    • Stars
      • Anwar Congo
      • Herman Koto
      • Syamsul Arifin
    • 150User reviews
    • 251Critic reviews
    • 91Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 55 wins & 46 nominations total

    Videos10

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:13
    Watch Theatrical Trailer
    The Act of Killing
    Trailer 2:13
    Watch The Act of Killing
    The Act Of Killing: Daytime Talk Show (Spanish Subtitled)
    Clip 3:18
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Daytime Talk Show (Spanish Subtitled)
    The Act Of Killing: Jeans
    Clip 1:09
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Jeans
    The Act Of Killing: On Set (Spanish Subtitled)
    Clip 3:12
    Watch The Act Of Killing: On Set (Spanish Subtitled)
    The Act Of Killing: Winner
    Clip 1:16
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Winner
    The Act Of Killing: Musical Sequence (Spanish Subtitled)
    Clip 2:07
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Musical Sequence (Spanish Subtitled)
    The Act Of Killing: Crazy
    Clip 0:56
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Crazy
    The Act Of Killing: Cruelty And Image
    Clip 2:10
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Cruelty And Image
    The Act Of Killing: Anwar On The Roof
    Clip 2:19
    Watch The Act Of Killing: Anwar On The Roof

    Photos59

    The Act of Killing (2012)
    Anwar Congo in The Act of Killing (2012)
    Anwar Congo in The Act of Killing (2012)
    Anwar Congo in The Act of Killing (2012)
    The Act of Killing (2012)
    The Act of Killing (2012)
    The Act of Killing (2012)
    The Act of Killing (2012)
    The Act of Killing (2012)
    The Act of Killing (2012)
    Anwar Congo in The Act of Killing (2012)
    Anwar Congo in The Act of Killing (2012)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anwar Congo
    Anwar Congo
    • Self - Executioner in 1965
    Herman Koto
    Herman Koto
    • Self - Gangster and Paramilitary Leader
    Syamsul Arifin
    • Self - Governor of North Sumatra
    Ibrahim Sinik
    • Self - Newspaper Publisher
    Yapto Soerjosoemarno
    Yapto Soerjosoemarno
    • Self - Leader of Pancasila Youth
    Safit Pardede
    • Self - Local Paramilitary Leader
    Jusuf Kalla
    Jusuf Kalla
    • Self - Vice President of Indonesia
    Adi Zulkadry
    Adi Zulkadry
    • Self - Fellow Executioner in 1965
    Soaduon Siregar
    • Self - Journalist
    Suryono
    Suryono
    • Self - Anwar's Neighbor
    Haji Marzuki
    • Self - Member of North Sumatra Parliament
    • (as Marzuki)
    Haji Anif
    Haji Anif
    • Self - Paramilitary Leader and Businessman
    Rahmat Shah
    • Self - Member of Parliament
    Sakhyan Asmara
    • Self - Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport
    Barack Obama
    Barack Obama
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Joshua Oppenheimer
      • Anonymous(co-director)
      • Christine Cynn(co-director)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The co-director, as well as 48 other members of the film crew in 27 different positions, are credited as 'Anonymous' because they still fear revenge from the death-squad killers. The 41-year-old Indonesian who shared directing credit with Joshua Oppenheimer and Christine Cynn, could only wonder, 'How could these people tell these horrible stories so lightly and so proudly? You just want to challenge them right away. But you have to keep telling yourself to be patient, to let them tell the story the way they like. Because then we can learn something about the whole system of destruction.'
    • Quotes

      Anwar Congo: Did the people I tortured feel the way I do here? I can feel what the people I tortured felt. Because here my dignity has been destroyed, and then fear come, right there and then. All the terror suddenly possessed my body. It surrounded me, and possessed me.

      Joshua Oppenheimer: Actually, the people you tortured felt far worse, because you knew it's only a film. They knew they were being killed.

      Anwar Congo: But I can feel it, Josh. Really, I feel it. Or have I sinned. I did this to so many people, Josh. Is it all coming back to me? I really hope it won't. I don't want it to, Josh.

    • Crazy credits
      The name "Anonymous" appears 49 times under 27 different crew positions in the credits. This was done to protect the identities of those crew members who feared retribution from the former Indonesian death squad leaders.
    • Alternate versions
      The 115-minute version is generally the theatrical version. It was presented at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals. The 159-minute version competed at the CPH:DOX festival and won its main award. It is also the main version being released in Indonesia.
    • Connections
      Edited into P.O.V.: The Act of Killing (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Theme for the Act of Killing
      Composer: Karsten Fundal

      Published by Edition Wilhlem Hansen

      Performed by Clara Bryld, Andreas Estrup, Frederik Teige, Katinka Fogh Vindelev

      Technician: Lars Falck

      Recording Studio: Copenhagen Studios

    User reviews150

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    JAW DROPPING you have to see it to believe it.
    Mark Twain said "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." and in this film you are hit a raw and unbelievable impossible truth. You are left wondering how the hell the film makers got such confessions from such mass murderers who now seem more eccentric then evil.

    " If we don't learn from history we are bound to repeat it" and I begin this paragraph with another famous but empty quote. But when you see this film you understand what that means. You may have read about political death squads, as I have, but I confess I never knew exactly what that meant. I thought they consisted of disciplined military units who targeted activists in a clinical way, and I thought that appalling. But death squads are unleashed thugs and these targeted communities, ethnic groups, communists and anyone else they wanted, to a tune of 2,5 million dead. This was another 20th century genocide and in the film the criminals still talk about "extermination" as if it was a good thing.

    In such an ethnically diverse place like Indonesia politicians should not talk or hold in respect war criminals who participated in genocide and in this film they openly do. Do they realise they are sending a message out, that this behaviour is acceptable in certain circumstance, which generally means it will happen again. Also, the international community should insist these men are taken to account and brought to the court of human rights in The Hague, as "we" should also insist this is always unacceptable. I urge all to watch this film, it is disturbing, jaw dropping, and something you will never forget. After the last scene of the film and thinking about what I just seen I let the credits run and even there, a poignant message, the amount of "anonymous" from makeup artists, producers and even one of the 2 directors shout volumes.
    helpful•48
    9
    • john-138-904908
    • Jan 2, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 8, 2012 (Denmark)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Denmark
      • Norway
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • Indonesian
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Акт вбивства
    • Filming locations
      • Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia(Exterior, Interview)
    • Production companies
      • Final Cut for Real
      • Piraya Film A/S
      • Novaya Zemlya
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $486,919
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $27,450
      • Jul 21, 2013
    • Gross worldwide
      • $726,324
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 57 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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