Award winning documentary about the men who did the killing during Indonesia's slaughter of communists in 1965-1966.
(NOTE: I watched the 2 1/2 hour director's cut.)
I went into the film completely blind. I knew little about the event covered in the film, and had no clue what to expect in terms of the "slant" of the film. If you want to do the same, stop reading now and go watch the film. I'm sure the standard length theatrical version is fine to watch.
Before I talk about the film itself, I want to talk about the prism that's it's shot through.
This film is about as unbiased as a typical Michael Moore documentary or MSNBC news report. The director, Joshua Oppenheimer, is clearly very, very left wing. At no point is communism's history or trail of bodies ever brought up. In fact, communism and the communists are never painted in a bad light throughout the film. The film is very one sided. At no point does the film discuss the failed coup that was the catalyst for the event or even suggest communist links to it. That part is interesting considering the film deals with the repercussions, which are carried out on communists. The film mentions "western" aid in the slaughter and Mr. Oppenheimer has publicly demanded that the U.S. and the U.K. accept responsibility, yet no proof whatsoever is offered within the film aside from an implication that American movies inspired some of the killers. Also, if I remember correctly the film mentions or implies the number of victims to be above 1 million, yet the wikipage says 500k. Either way, it's a lot of victims, but artificially inflating the number does hint at bias.
One other thing that left me curious is that Mr. Oppenheimer interfered verbally in a few scenes. I totally understand asking questions, but there were a few times he stated his opinion to the people he's filming. Isn't that a big documentary "no no"?
That being said, Mr. Oppenheimer made a good film. Watching these men who committed atrocities explain why and how they did what they did was fascinating. Both in how matter of fact they state it, what their opinions were of what they were doing, and what their opinions are now.
What's really clever, and probably pretty biased, is that he tells these men to make movies about their experiences. I say biased because discussions of American films and their influence run throughout the film. Thus asking these guys to make movies about their crimes could easily be seen as manipulative to help viewers make the connection between these crimes and the U.S.
Again, at no point in the film is it ever discussed that the U.S. offered aid, weapons, troops, consultations, etc. I think Mr. Oppenheimer is condemning them because Indonesia was an ally, and the U.S. (and others) were turning a blind eye to the slaughter going on there.
Anyway, watching these guys film these scenes is the best part of the movie. The way each reacts to the violence involved is interesting. There's one scene involving a guy whose father was a murdered Communist and that guy, imho, steals the movie. Before the scene he was discussing his father's death with these killers, and they were clearly turned off by him. Then they cut to doing the scene, and Oppenheimer very wisely allows it to play out so you're not sure if this is a scene or the real deal. That's how good a job the actor does in portraying a victim. I honestly thought he was begging for his life for real.
One negative of the film is how much time Oppenheimer spends on showing the life of those in power, and how corrupt the country is and its officials. It made it seem like I was watching two different movies. And don't get me wrong, that stuff was fascinating too, and I'd watch a documentary just on that right now. It's especially compelling because of how it doesn't seem too far off from our own issues here. However, it felt out of place in a film about mass murderers and how they live and cope with what they've done. That's interesting enough! I don't need to hear about how one of them can't get elected because he doesn't have the money to bribe the voters because the system is so corrupted.
Perhaps I made a mistake watching the director's cut? Maybe it includes too much of Oppenheimer's personal beliefs and slant? Probably. Still, I don't regret it. Despite Oppenheimer's politics, he does a great job of capturing the killers' stories and that's what I was there for. Some know they are monsters, some are too stupid to know, some too evil (the s.o.b. who talks about raping 14 year olds), some come to the realization during filming.
It's a biased, but good film that deals with a heavy topic.
The Act of Killing - Yay Netflix!
One amusing truth about that region and time period is America's involvement fighting against communist forces (all leading back to USSR and China) to the extent that our actual foreign policy at the time was to stop every nation in the region from collapsing in a "domino effect." If I recall correctly, that term was the actual foreign policy. It was felt that if nothing was done to stop if, communist influence would collapse one country after another and, basically, expand the USSR with all the accompanying mass murder that goes along with it. Hippies in America opposed American intervention with every ounce of their being.
So here's some actual domino effect:
1. Plenty of resistance to the idea that capitalism was superior to the communist system in place in the USSR.
2. North Vietnam pulls a last ditch attack on American forces in that country.... they get their asses kicked. The only broke through American lines in one spot out of hundreds, and were immediately pushed back.
3. Walter Conkrite looked at that American victory and goes on live TV and says we can't win in Vietnam.
4. The last public support for the war effort vanishes because of it... or, at least, the scales of public support tipped.
5. America pulls out, the communists take over, we have a famous photograph of the last helicopter leaving the embassy, thousands get murdered for being American sympathizers, and this leads directly to the communists taking over in Cambodia and The Killing Fields where millions were murdered, just like a domino effect. If only someone could have foreseen the consequences of America cutting support to these people...
but nah, we are taught that America was the bad guy of yet another needless war.
Edited By GORDON on 1409762947
So here's some actual domino effect:
1. Plenty of resistance to the idea that capitalism was superior to the communist system in place in the USSR.
2. North Vietnam pulls a last ditch attack on American forces in that country.... they get their asses kicked. The only broke through American lines in one spot out of hundreds, and were immediately pushed back.
3. Walter Conkrite looked at that American victory and goes on live TV and says we can't win in Vietnam.
4. The last public support for the war effort vanishes because of it... or, at least, the scales of public support tipped.
5. America pulls out, the communists take over, we have a famous photograph of the last helicopter leaving the embassy, thousands get murdered for being American sympathizers, and this leads directly to the communists taking over in Cambodia and The Killing Fields where millions were murdered, just like a domino effect. If only someone could have foreseen the consequences of America cutting support to these people...
but nah, we are taught that America was the bad guy of yet another needless war.
Edited By GORDON on 1409762947
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Walter Conkrite looked at that American victory and goes on live TV and says we can't win in Vietnam.
Uh whoa. After being told for months on end that North Vietnam didn't have the resources or balls to mount a major offensive, the American public saw them fucking mounting a major (albeit tactically idiotic) offensive.
The last public support for the war effort vanishes because of it... or, at least, the scales of public support tipped.
Americans have never been huge fan of getting involved in conflicts overseas for long periods of time. WWI and WWII were notable exceptions that went on for a few years during which support noticeably waxed.
America pulls out, the communists take over, we have a famous photograph of the last helicopter leaving the embassy, thousands get murdered for being American sympathizers, and this leads directly to the communists taking over in Cambodia and The Killing Fields where millions were murdered, just like a domino effect. If only someone could have foreseen the consequences of America cutting support to these people...
Funny. Because while the French were busy colonizing the fuck out of Cambodia and generally doing everything they could to piss off the locals, Pol Pot actually appealed to the US for help in getting the French to leave. We decided not to listen. Then he went to the Russians.
Edited By Malcolm on 1409763735
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Are you arguing? I said they got their asses kicked. Are you suggesting Cronkite wasn't wrong? If I tried I could probably find the recent interview with a Vietnamese general who said they were beaten after Tet, but then America gave up.Malcolm wrote:Uh whoa. After being told for months on end that North Vietnam didn't have the resources or balls to mount a major offensive, the American public saw them fucking mounting a major (albeit tactically idiotic) offensive.Walter Conkrite looked at that American victory and goes on live TV and says we can't win in Vietnam.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Yes, I knew that. It is weird we didn't back the guy who would later have no problem killing millions of his own people. Of course USSR loved that guy.Malcolm wrote:Funny. Because while the French were busy colonizing the fuck out of Cambodia and generally doing everything they could to piss off the locals, Pol Pot actually appealed to the US for help in getting the French to leave. We decided not to listen. Then he went to the Russians.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
General Giap admitted the Tet Offensive was a colossal fuck up. He almost lost his post over it.GORDON wrote:Are you arguing? I said they got their asses kicked. Are you suggesting Cronkite wasn't wrong? If I tried I could probably find the recent interview with a Vietnamese general who said they were beaten after Tet, but then America gave up.Malcolm wrote:Uh whoa. After being told for months on end that North Vietnam didn't have the resources or balls to mount a major offensive, the American public saw them fucking mounting a major (albeit tactically idiotic) offensive.Walter Conkrite looked at that American victory and goes on live TV and says we can't win in Vietnam.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Considering the British were pulling out of India, perhaps he would've been more reasonable had we told the French to leave.GORDON wrote:Yes, I knew that. It is weird we didn't back the guy who would later have no problem killing millions of his own people. Of course USSR loved that guy.Malcolm wrote:Funny. Because while the French were busy colonizing the fuck out of Cambodia and generally doing everything they could to piss off the locals, Pol Pot actually appealed to the US for help in getting the French to leave. We decided not to listen. Then he went to the Russians.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."