The Act of Killing

Rating: 9.0

There is a scene early on in The Act of Killing where Anwar Congo, a notorious former death squad leader, describes going to the movies in the 1960s.  He loved going to see American musicals, and after seeing them, would be in a happy mood and sing songs that were stuck in his head.  The documentary then follows Anwar as he demonstrates that sometimes after the movie he would go to across the street to the building where his death squad held their executions.  At times, the songs would still be stuck in his head while he was strangling people to death with wire.  

Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing is filled with such scenes, where the horrifying acts Anwar Congo and his death squad have committed are described or recreated with bone chilling details.  The movie is the most harrowing film/documentary I have seen in a long time; giving me a view of events so horrible that every detail I can relate to or understand terrifies me.  Similar to the scene I described above, I have also experienced watching a musical and then feeling uplifted and humming the songs.  The fact that a notorious death squad leader beautifully described that feeling both terrifies and engages me.