The Act of Killing
Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, Anonymous
2012
*****
You know a documentary is worth watching when both Werner Herzog and Errol Morris both produce, stating that it is the 'Most astonishing film ever made'. Astonishing is an understatement. Devastating is probably the first word that comes to mind. The Act of Killing pushes the boundaries of documentary film making as this isn't a document of fact in the classical sense. Nothing is a lie, more an exploration but you never can quite tell whether anything is real or not. It is essentially surrealist realism. It's not the impossibility you might think it is. Maybe it's because we never quite believe what we hearing because it is so alien to us, I often wondered throughout the film whether these people were actually so poorly educated that they were just simply using the wrong words but by the end of the film we see that this clearly isn't the case. The film explores the different perspectives of our own morality and natural empathy. Can we commit horrible deeds even when we are told it's the right thing to do? We never really find out, morality and madness walk hand in hand in this tale. The political and social issues raised should also make people sit up and pay attention in today's current climate. The only window of resolution is revealed in the last scene. It's open to interpretation but in my opinion the answer is clear as we watch the simplest of situations reveal so much of what makes us us and what it is to be a human being. Some things cannot be taught or unlearned, it's our nature in it's purest sense and a glimpse of hope. Seriously, that last scene is astonishing. There is no other film like it, it's a must watch, an uncomfortable watch and quite possibly one of the greatest films of all time. Yes, seriously.