The Act of Killing

Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Theatrical Release Date:

Synopsis: In a place where killers are celebrated as heroes, these filmmakers challenge unrepentant death-squad leaders to dramatize their role in genocide. The result is a surreal, cinematic journey, not only into the memories and imaginations of mass murderers, but also into a frighteningly banal regime of corruption and impunity. Executive produced by Errol Morris. [courtesy of TIFF]

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Thompson on Hollywood News

Drafthouse Picks Up Harrowing Genocide Reenactment Doc 'The Act of Killing'

Drafthouse Films has acquired US rights to Joshua Oppenheimer's breakout Danish doc "The Act of Killing." The film, described by Errol Morris as "a non-fiction film unlike anything else," is a series of portraits of Indonesian death squad leaders, challenged to reenact their real-life mass killings ...
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Indiewire News

Provocative Documentary 'The Act of Killing' Grabbed by Drafthouse Films for 2013 Awards Run

Drafthouse Films has acquired U.S. rights to the provocative documentary “The Act Of Killing,” directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. With the crowded late-fall release schedule and an overabundance of strong docs in 2012, Drafthouse plans to hold “Killing” for a 30-market thea...
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The Playlist Reviews

Berlin Review: Joshua Oppenheimer’s 'The Act Of Killing' Is A Constantly Astounding, Terrifying Masterpiece

Holy fucking shit. All apologies for incoherence in the following review but having just emerged from Joshua Oppenheimer’s shattering documentary “The Act of Killing,” which screened here in Berlin this morning, I am still shaking. I may not be in the best state to write about it, in fact, but there...
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Indiewire Reviews

Critic's Notebook: Does Toronto Need a Shrinking Pill? Highlights From the 2012 Edition

No matter how closely you follow the buzz from the Toronto International Film Festival each year, chances are strong that you only get one piece of a very long equation. With nearly 300 features in its program, the festival is overwhelmingly dense, particularly during its first weekend. Even the mos...
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Indiewire Reviews

102 Reviews From the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival continues through next weekend, but Indiewire has already reviewed a significant portion of the program at various other festivals over the past year.
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Indiewire Reviews

Telluride Review: Harrowing 'Act of Killing' Is the Most Unsettling Movie About Mass Killing Since 'Shoah'

In Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing," a pair of gangsters -- responsible for murdering an untold number of suspected communists in the years following the 1965 overthrow of the Indonesian government -- get the chance to recount their experiences. At first showing no visible rem...
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