The Act of Killing

The Act of Killing

A story of killers who win and the society they build.

2012•2h 39m•7.7/10

DocumentaryHistory

Ratings

🎬TMDb

7.7/10(749)

In this chilling and groundbreaking documentary, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

Open in PickFlick

Production

Final Cut for Real, Piraya Film, Novaya Zemlya, Spring Films

Language

DA

Status

Released

Release Date

Trailers & Videos

Cast

Anwar Congo

Self - Executioner in 1965

Herman Koto

Self - Gangster & Paramilitary Leader

Syamsul Arifin

Self - Governor of North Sumatra

Ibrahim Sinik

Self - Newspaper Publisher

Yapto Soerjosoemarno

Self - Leader of Pancasila Youth

Safit Pardede

Self - Local Paramilitary Leader

Jusuf Kalla

Self - Vice President of Indonesia

Adi Zulkadry

Self - Fellow Executioner in 1965

Suryono

Self - Anwar's Neighbor

Haji Marzuki

Self - Member of North Sumatra Parliament

Haji Anif

Self - Paramilitary Leader & Businessman

Rahmat Shah

Self - Member of Parliament

Sakhyan Asmara

Self - Deputy Minister of Youth & Sport

Soaduon Siregar

Self

Recommended

Fuck

Fuck

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

Fuck

2006

6.4

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

2025

6.2

Einstein and the Bomb

Einstein and the Bomb

What happened after Einstein fled Nazi Germany? Using archival footage and his own words, this docudrama dives into the mind of a tortured genius.

Einstein and the Bomb

2024

6.2

The Look of Silence

The Look of Silence

An optician grapples with the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-1966, during which his older brother was exterminated.

The Look of Silence

2014

7.8

Seaspiracy

Seaspiracy

Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species — and uncovers an alarming global conspiracy.

Seaspiracy

2021

7.8

City of Ghosts

City of Ghosts

With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS—as they risk their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.

City of Ghosts

2017

7.2

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

2018

7.5

Citizenfour

Citizenfour

In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.

Citizenfour

2014

7.7

Sidney

Sidney

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

Sidney

2022

7.4

Room 237

Room 237

A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.

Room 237

2012

6.1

For Sama

For Sama

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

For Sama

2019

8.2

Risk

Risk

Capturing the story of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with unprecedented access, director Laura Poitras finds herself caught between the motives and contradictions of Assange and his inner circle in a documentary portrait of power, betrayal, truth and sacrifice.

Risk

2017

6.6

Similar Movies

Padmaavat

Padmaavat

Rajputana, India, 13th century. The tyrannical usurper Alauddin Khilji, sultan of Delhi, becomes obsessed with Queen Padmavati, wife of King Ratan Singh of Mewar, and goes to great lengths to satisfy his greed for her.

Padmaavat

2018

6.9

Allianz gegen China

Allianz gegen China

While global attention focuses on Ukraine, the Middle East, and Trump’s trade policies, the situation in East Asia is shifting rapidly. Former wartime enemies Japan and South Korea are drawing closer and aligning themselves with Taiwan. An emerging alliance is forming—one that, together with the U.S., positions itself against China. But does this strengthen peace, or turn East Asia into a powder keg?

Allianz gegen China

2025

8.0

Palestinians Don't Need Sidewalks

Palestinians Don't Need Sidewalks

A raw journey through occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, this film profiles Palestinian life under Israeli aggression, exposing Australia’s complicity and media bias.

Palestinians Don't Need Sidewalks

2025

Liberty: Mother of Exiles

Liberty: Mother of Exiles

A look at the history of the Statue of Liberty and the meaning of sculptor Auguste Bartholdi's creation to people around the world.

Liberty: Mother of Exiles

2019

7.5

It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks

It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks

The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist in 2004, followed by the publishing of twelve satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed that was commissioned for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, provides the incendiary framework for Daniel Leconte's provocative documentary, It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks.

It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks

2008

6.8

The Society of the Spectacle

The Society of the Spectacle

Guy Debord's analysis of a consumer society.

The Society of the Spectacle

1974

6.7

Serpico

Serpico

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

Serpico

1973

7.5

Glory

Glory

Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

Glory

1989

7.5

Ivan the Terrible, Part I

Ivan the Terrible, Part I

Set during the early part of his reign, Ivan faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people. Sergei Eisenstein's final film, this is the first part of a three-part biopic of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, which was never completed due to the producer's dissatisfaction with Eisenstein's attempts to use forbidden experimental filming techniques and excessive cost overruns. The second part was completed but not released for a decade after Eisenstein's death and a change of heart in the USSR government toward his work; the third part was only in its earliest stage of filming when shooting was stopped altogether.

Ivan the Terrible, Part I

1944

7.3

500 Years

500 Years

From a historic genocide trial to the overthrow of a president, the sweeping story of mounting resistance played out in Guatemala’s recent history is told through the actions and perspectives of the majority indigenous Mayan population, who now stand poised to reimagine their society.

500 Years

2017

5.9

My Friend Boris Nemtsov

My Friend Boris Nemtsov

An intimate portrait of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov — once Deputy Prime Minister and “an heir of President Yeltsin”, later an uncompromising adversary of Putin — that was assassinated near the Kremlin in February 2015. Election campaigns and hotel beds, protest rallies and office routine, train compartments and courtrooms, night walks and police vans – you have never seen any politician so close. This is a story how a journalist assignment turns into a genuine friendship.

My Friend Boris Nemtsov

2015

Last Men in Aleppo

Last Men in Aleppo

A searing example of boots-on-the-ground reportage follows the efforts of the internationally recognized White Helmets, an organization consisting of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives. Incorporating moments of both heart-pounding suspense and improbable beauty, the documentary draws us into the lives of three of its founders — Khaled, Subhi, and Mahmoud — as they grapple with the chaos around them and struggle with an ever-present dilemma: do they flee or stay and fight for their country?

Last Men in Aleppo

2017

7.0

PickFlick Assistant

Hi! I'm your PickFlick Assistant. Ask me about movies, TV shows, IPTV sources, or anything about PickFlick.

Powered by CopilotKit