The Act of Killing
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Released: 2012
Title – “The Act of Killing”
- Double Meanings
- commission of the crime
- act out killing
- killing ideas, community, hope
The Opening
- Images of Indonesia
- Backstory (inter-titles)
- No authoritative history of the killings allows the brevity of the inter-titles to create enough backstory
Theme of history & corruption
-Everybody already knows and yet there is no written history
-like Western Governments supporting fascist regimes
-pointing at things that everyone knows, but no one discusses
-an examination of a system built on killings and corruption
-people who don’t believe the words they are saying
Celebrity & Western Ideologies
– draws on the current trend that everyone wants to exercise their celebrity
- film casting + the gangsters cast as they create and discuss their movie project
- Vanity, celebrity, and self-interest is no longer sinful
- “Bring me to the Hague” (Anwar)
- Camouflage that is meant to be seen
- Fake images created in service of celebrity & politics
- Everyone is Faking/Lying to themselves
- Re-imaging western films (gangster & cowboy films)
- Juxtaposition – Western Culture & Indonesia
- Beauty is more important than the “act”
Empty Images
- allow the viewer to relax – an afterthought – no reverse shots – tableau
Non-Fiction Film-making Advice
Be really present in the situation to know the right question to ask
Wisdom of the snake: coil-up like a snake, then strike at the right moment
Story Telling
- The audience’s understanding grows as the film progresses
- film is bad at words, but great at feelings
- The film is also aware of the quiet/inner story
- Brought about in the “fever dream” (Bats in the sky)
- When to introduce the inner-story to the audience?
- Prepare the “soil” for the inner-story
Anwar
- 41st perpetrator that Oppenheimer filmed as he worked the film
- The first shooting with Anwar was on the rooftop, proudly displaying his murders (1000s were killed on that rooftop)
