By The Act of Killing is one of my picks for best films of 2013. It’s a disturbing and yet fascinating documentary in which Indonesian death squad members are asked to make their own narrative film that dramatizes their actions during the communist purge of 1965-1966. (At least 500,000 people were killed, some estimates put the numbers above 1 million.) The result is a chilling exploration of history and memory, and the role that storytelling can play in understanding both.
In this new clip from The Act of Killing, you get to meet Adi Zulkadry. He was one of the government-backed killers, and he’s unrepentant about torturing and murdering hundreds of people himself. He explains why to director Joshua Oppenheimer. (Read our interview with Joshua Oppenheimer from SXSW.)
The Act of Killing had a very successful opening in New York last week. The film opens in Los Angeles and Washington DC today and expands to other cities throughout August. For a full list of release dates and theaters playing the film, click here.
[via The Dissolve]