This week finally sees the 2012 film, The Act of Killing as a blu ray release.
The Act of Killing is a disturbing film about the Indonesian genocide of the 1960's in which rumored communists were raped, tortured, and killed by twisted men with a penchant for straight up evil. The documentary chronicles these "free men" as they as they recreate their crimes against human kind in an almost arrogant, self serving fashion. These stone cold, heartless murderers create vivid scenes from their favorite genres of film to show off all the awful ways they had killed and tortured supposed communists during that era.
What could have been a way for them to pay penance for their crimes against humanity turns out to show that most of these god awful people are just as heartless and cold as they were 50 years ago. They do not apologize. They do not repent. Other than the main focal point of the movie, Anwar Congo, most of the murderers appear to be emotionally vacant and have no moral compass whatsoever. The true breaking point for me came when one of the men tells how he would stab and murder any Chinese person he saw without any remorse at all. He claims to have murdered hundreds all based on a political system he doesn't agree with. Disgusting. But worst of all, he's a free man.
In all honesty, this is the type of movie that makes me question humanity and the true evils that lie dormant in modern society. How easy would it be for a genocide like this to happen again? That's the real question. If anything, The Act of Killing is an eye opening experience.
If you want your heart ripped out, watch The Act of Killing. Seeing that these men walk freely with no punishment for the crimes they committed bothers me to the core. They should all be in prison for crimes against humanity. Instead, they get a documentary made about them in which they mock and recreate some of the most brutal crimes of the last century.
-Review by Chris George