Indie Watch
The Act of Killing
By Dan Krovich
January 9, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The Act of Killing
There have been many (unfortunately necessary) documentaries about mass genocides, but The Act of Killing takes a decidedly different approach in exposing the mass murder that occurred when the government of Indonesia was overthrown by the military in 1965. Filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer invited some of the leaders of those death squads to re-enact their atrocities through the making of scenes in the style of the Hollywood movies they enjoyed so much. The process forces them to finally confront their actions because with the spoils of victory they have never been held accountable for them before.
As the new government took control, they embarked on steps to eliminate their challengers and enemies, which largely consisted of suspected communists. To accomplish this, they utilized gangsters such as the two profiled in the film, Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry. Big fans of American movies, they had previously made money by scalping black market movie tickets, but they quickly graduated to death squad leaders and enforcers of the new regime that was founded on genocide, and to this day they remain respected and powerful men in Indonesia.
Director Joshua Oppenheimer uses the men’s movie fandom as an in with Anwar and Adi. He proposes to make films of their experiences using full Hollywood technology. Being proud of their actions which they viewed as heroic and patriotic, they agree to participate in the filming providing the specific stories as well as performing in the scenes which range from gritty gangster movies to lavish musical numbers. As they re-enact their horrific actions, their attitudes begin to change from pride first to a public relations concern that their actions may look bad to perhaps a level of regret and realization about what they had done. But for the fact that they were on the winning side, these now older men would have been identified as war criminals and portrayers of one of the most tragic genocides in history. They seem rather normal and rather charismatic – guys you might want to hang out and talk movies with if you didn’t know their past.
Elevating itself above the standard "human atrocity documentary," The Art of Killing raises issues from the banality of evil to the possibility of redemption, the effect of violence in media and the power of art. Instead of simply focusing on statistics and the horrible things that happened, it provides insight into the men who performed these heinous acts. It is not overstating to put it in the echelon of most important documentaries ever made.
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New releases for January 10th
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In Bloom: The Republic of Georgia in 1992 was a turbulent time. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the newly independent country struggled with violence, food shortages, and civil unrest. That provides the backdrop for a coming age film about the friendship of two teenage girls based partially on the experiences of writer and co-director (with Simon Gross), Nana Ekvtimishvili. Geopolitical upheaval has nothing on the trials and tribulations of adolescence, especially for girls in a male dominated society.
Raze: Starring long-time Tarantino stunt woman Zoe Bell, Raze is a distaff version of the familiar gladiator type fight to the death movie. Sabrina (Bell) is abducted and imprisoned and forced to compete in a to the death underground fighting tournament with 50 women who have been threatened with the death of their loved ones if they refuse to fight or dies in combat. This is no Orange is the New Black. Violent and bloody, Raze doesn’t focus so much on things like character development, giving it more time to concentrate on the bare knuckle brawling between women.
The Rocket: Ahlo is a 10-year-old boy in Northern Laos whose twin died in childbirth and based on village superstition has been seen as being cursed. When the village is forced to relocate due to a hydroelectric project, they must go on an arduous journey to their new home, which turns out not to be the houses with running water and electricity they were promised but instead even more dilapidated dwellings. With his bad luck charm reputation growing, Ahlo sees an annual rocket building contest as a chance of redemption for himself and his village. The Rocket was Australia’s official submission for the Foreign Language Film Oscar.