The Act of Killing

[sabotabby]

fatpie42's recent review of The Act of Killing, a documentary (well, kind of) by Joshua Oppenheimer, reminded me that I'd downloaded it awhile back but never actually watched it. So I did.

I can't review it properly; I'm not sure this film can be reviewed properly. I mean, I could say that it's among the most brilliant films I've ever seen, and certainly the most brilliant documentary I've ever seen, but can I recommend it? I don't know. I like you guys. Not sure I want to put you through that.

Oppenheimer went to Indonesia to interview members of paramilitary death squads and gangsters who murdered 500,000 people, who they claimed were communists, between 1964 and 1965 following Suharto's coup. The purge was committed with complicity and aid from Western governments, including my own. (I have clear memories of Suharto's 1997 visit to the APEC conference in Vancouver, where he was greeted by our politicians as if he were an actual human being and not scum worthy only of eradication, like a cockroach, and those protesting the arrival of this unrepentant war criminal were treated as criminals themselves. But I didn't grasp it back then. It's one thing to be worked up into a rage against a monster responsible for mass murder—any right-thinking person would be, unlike Chretien—and another thing to be confronted with the realities of what those murders were like.)

So if it had just been interviews and information about what happened, it would have been disturbing and powerful enough, but Oppenheimer does one better than that. He convinces the men—now quite elderly—to create an art film based on their memories of the massacres. They act in it as both themselves and their victims, complete with makeup and special effects. One, Anwar Conga, founder of the Pancasila Youth paramilitary movement and personally responsible for the murder of 1000 people, has nightmares and feels some remorse; the other, Adi Zulkadry, not so much. Along with their friends, they talk about how they idolize the gangster lifestyle (repeatedly, people in the film state that "gangster" means "free man") and Western movies. The reenacted scenes are shot in the style of the movies they enjoyed in their youth. As the film goes on, there are fewer interviews and more surreal sequences.

Nearly every major subject in the film is a monster. The filmmaker, at least until the end, withholds judgment, which must have been an unimaginable struggle, allowing them to talk about their rapes and murders, to demonstrate how they did it for the camera, bask in the appreciation of journalists and politicians who see them as heroes. At one point, they travel through a market extorting money from Chinese merchants to throw a party; all on film, all completely unrepentant, with no self-reflection or question as to why they feel that they can take what they want through violence. Interspersed are scenes of Anwar with his two young grandsons, the gangsters golfing and bowling, one running for election even though he can't even remember his lines and only wants to use the position to extort more money from people.

And it's just horrible. It keeps going. It's so hard to watch, but I felt I owed it to the victims to know what happened to them and to try to understand their murderers' psychology. I'm constantly baffled by how regular people justify their support for or complicity in atrocities; this film is a window into that mentality without allowing a single easy answer.

Anyway. You should watch it. Or you shouldn't. But you probably should.

Comments

[robby.livejournal.com]

There is so much horror in the world. It's impossible to avoid.

[sabotabby]

Yes. I mean, you can choose not to torture yourself with movies like this, but even still.

I was listening to CBC just now and there was for serious a guy on suggesting that the US should collaborate with Assad to wipe out ISIS and I almost cried.

[fatpie42.livejournal.com]

During WWII, the allies inevitably needed to work with Stalin when taking down Hitler. Not all alliances are ideal. If they want to stop the atrocities being done by ISIS, it might be inevitable that they have to decide which out of ISIS and Assad represents the better of two evils.

Edit: Of course I don't know how flippant this person was being about their suggestion. Even if 'teaming up' with Assad really were the most prudent option, it is clearly not a decision to be made lightly.

[sabotabby]

It's a bit different, though. Among other things, the extent of Stalin's crimes weren't known back then. Whereas we know what Assad's done.

Not to mention that ISIS is a direct result of the US interfering where it shouldn't. Taking down Hitler wasn't exactly adding more fuel to the fire.

The guy was dead serious. His rationale was that Assad was kind of a bad guy but no threat to American interests, whereas ISIS was a threat to American interests. Syrian interests didn't even factor in.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*makes a note*

I don't know if I'm strong enough, but that's no excuse.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

I KNOW I'm not strong enough, and that's my excuse.

It is good that this documentary exists, though.

[sabotabby]

It's entirely fine to not be strong enough. It's not like it helps anyone to watch this. I felt like I needed to, though.

[mistersmearcase.livejournal.com]

WB and his friend went to see it and I thought "nope, can't do that to myself right now." I may watch it sometime. I don't know.

[sabotabby]

I was planning to watch it with someone, but now I'm glad that I didn't. There was one point where I felt like I needed to turn it off for a bit, which is awkward to do with someone else there, and impossible to do in a theatre.

[mad-bertha.livejournal.com]

It would make me want to have a very hot shower. So filthy :(

To live that long and fail to question such horrific acts.

[sabotabby]

Yeah, it gave me nightmares.

It just made me think a lot about complicity. The men who carried out the acts were monsters, but any more so than the politicians here who sanctioned it? I can't answer that.

[mad-bertha.livejournal.com]

Complicity all around - Australia, southeast asia. No one wants to offend Indonesia and rock the boat.

[neko-zoi.livejournal.com]

It's awesome, yeah

[neko-zoi.livejournal.com]

I mean non-slang "awesome"

[sabotabby]

Both senses of the word, really.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ex_cowboy/]

strangely, my mother watched it last night. she was very confused. why are these horrible people laughing?

glad you caught it! it's still on Instant for anyone who has Netflix.

[sabotabby]

The laughter made it all the more disturbing.

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

Yeek. I think I need to see that, though... *shudders*

I was very pleased to see recently that the Indonesians rejected the "strong leader", war criminal and ex-General Prabowo Subianto as President, in favour of the (so far, let's see if he stays that way) progressive-inclined Joko Widodo. Some hope, maybe.

But sounds an extraordinary film.

[sabotabby]

Let's hope. It seems like among the many barriers to democracy in Indonesia is violent suppression of history, which makes this film a step in the right direction.

[ironed_orchid]

That sounds like the sort of thing I might watch, one day, when I'm feeling up to it.

(I get the advantage of watching things at home and being able to turn them off, but sometimes watching things in the cinema is the only way I can keep watching them. )

[sabotabby]

That was certainly the case for me with all three of the Star Wars prequels. /flippant

At one point in the film I wanted to turn it off and resume watching the next day, but given that I'd spent months psyching myself up for it, I didn't trust my ability to do that.

[ilipodscrill.livejournal.com]

I watched it in a theater. It is really disturbing, both the scale of the genocide and the way they've mythologized it. terrifying.

[sabotabby]

Yep, basically this.