The Act of Killing

"A story of killers who win and the society they build."

2012 2h 39m DA

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 791

DocumentaryHistory

Synopsis

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After befriending documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various American film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

“A story of killers who win and the society they build.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Anwar Congo
Self - Executioner in 1965
Herman Koto
Self - Gangster & Paramilitary Leader
Syamsul Arifin
Self - Governor of North Sumatra
Ibrahim Sinik
Self - Newspaper Publisher
Yapto Soerjosoemarno
Self - Leader of Pancasila Youth
Safit Pardede
Self - Local Paramilitary Leader
Jusuf Kalla
Self - Vice President of Indonesia
Adi Zulkadry
Self - Fellow Executioner in 1965

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Languages: Indonesian
Countries: Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 159 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 72% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 14 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, shot by Lars Skree. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nils Pagh Andersen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anwar Congo and Herman Koto and Syamsul Arifin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joshua Oppenheimer directs. Lars Skree behind the camera. Nils Pagh Andersen cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom. Dialogue in Indonesian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 159 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Earned back only 72% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
4Released 14 years ago.
5International production across 3 countries: Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom.
6Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, shot by Lars Skree. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Editor Nils Pagh Andersen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Anwar Congo and Herman Koto and Syamsul Arifin carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A story of killers who win and the society they build.".
10IMDB entry: tt2375605 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lars Skree
Editing: Nils Pagh Andersen
Sound: Elin Øyen Vister
Runtime: 159 min · 2h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $722,714
Return: 72% of budget
Original language: DA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Act of Killing (2012)

Awards

European Film Award for Best Documentary

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Joshua Oppenheimer

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Arrrrrrrach2017-02-18
★ 10/10
The synopsis is available elsewhere and I have no idea how to review a film like this so here are a few simple lines: I have never seen anything remotely like this and would go as far as to say that it is one of the most honest portrayals of several aspects of the human psyche I have ever experienced in any medium. It's not a pleasant film but I can't give it any less than full marks for its bravery, arrogance and honesty when dealing with an uncomfortable aspect of our species. Joshua Oppenheimer (dir.) understands the social norms of his subjects' environment and also their own egos and greed, shows us so that we also understand and then uses all he has learned to get them to openly reveal all directly to the audience, pretty much by luring them. It's obvious that with the backstory and footage used he already had more than enough for a documentary film and it seems as though he thought 'I have a better plan' and then made this film instead, in the ultimate quest for knowledge. Beyond words and essential. Note: There is a companion to this called 'The Look of Silence', which is a different type of film altogether and one that sheds much extra light onto the the events of this time and place but from a different perspective and this is also recommended, albeit not as strongly.
CinemaSerf2026-08-22
★ 7/10
I didn't really know where to start with this uniquely constructed documentary. The director has assembled a collection of brutes like the enigmatic Anwar Congo and an whole slew of other paramilitary leaders from Indonesia's recent past, and asked them to recreate some of their more murderous scenarios as if they were filming an edition of "Glee"! There are serious conversations with some of the warlords responsible for unspeakable atrocities on both a mass and an individual scale - which does beg a question as to why these people aren't already behind bars; there are rehearsals for their scenes of torture and violence and there are even musical pieces that could have featured in a Ziegfeld folly. These re-enactments serve as a fascinating conduit for the telling of a story of state-sponsored cruelty carried out with impunity by many - all in the name of anti-communism - little older than teenagers. Equipped with uniforms that looked like those you could buy from an high street sport shop and addressed frequently by senior soldiers as national heroes, these "Pemuda Pancasila" had something worryingly of the Hitler Youth to them as they marauded the community armed with their machetes completely uninterested in any form of legal process. Naturally, their political agenda also allowed for plenty of old grudges to be settled along the way and these graphically imagined reconstructions actually serve to quite effectively point out that sometimes it is very difficult for a detached observer to distinguish between Hollywood zeal and Indonesia real. What's also striking here is the complete lack of remorse from those still at liberty and astonishingly proud of their actions in "defence of their motherland". The fact that these are dramatisations does make it slightly easier to watch, but it all still leaves a very acrid taste in the mouth and is a sad indictment of a society where hate and fear walked hand in hand just like they were really at the O.K. Corral or in a "Corleone" Sicily.