Act of Killing, The

Synopsis: THE ACT OF KILLING is a documentary about Anwar Congo, a gangster who, as leader of a death squad, committed mass murder during the killings of 1965 - 1966, which took place following the failed coup of the 30 September Movement in 1965. Congo and his gang helped the army kill more than one million alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and intellectuals in less than a year. As the executioner for the most notorious death squad in his city, Congo himself killed hundreds of people with his own hands.

Oppenheimer’s film depicts Congo and his friends re-enacting the killings for the cameras, in the style of their favorite films: gangster, western, and musical. As the film progresses, and becomes increasingly surreal, Congo is forced to begin to acknowledge the enormity of his crimes.

Special features include a Director’s Cut; deleted scenes; director’s commentary featuring Werner Herzog and ‘THE MURDER OF GONZAGO, an essay by Errol Morris.
Language: Indonesian
Country: Finland; Great Britain; Norway; Sweden
Year of release: 2013
Notes: Also available on Blu-Ray [Region B; £15.99 inclusive]
Subjects: History; Politics & government
Keywords: documentary films; genocide; Indonesia

Name: Dogwoof Pictures
Email: oli@dogwoofpictures.com
Web: http://www.dogwoof.com External site opens in new window
Phone: 020 7395 1217
Fax: 020 7900 3270
Address: 2nd Floor, 1A Neal’s Yard
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9DP
Notes: Dogwoof is an independent distributor specialising in quality films from around the world that raise awareness, trigger change, and get people involved. The main focus is socially conscious films including THE AGE OF STUPID, THE END OF THE LINE, BURMA VJ and BLACK GOLD. Sale on DVD. In Autumn 2011 Dogwoof launched Popup Cinema (http://popupcinema.net/) to allow non-theatric screenings of their just-released and classic titles.

This record has been viewed 497 times.

British Universities Film & Video Council