Nominated for an Academy Award®, “The Act of Killing” is as dreamlike and terrifying as anything that Werner Herzog (one of the executive producers) could imagine. The film explores a horrifying era in Indonesian history and provides a window into modern Indonesia, where corruption reigns. Not only is the 1965 murder of an estimated one million people honored as a patriotic act, but the killers remain in power. In a mind-bending twist, death-squad leaders dramatize their brutal deeds in the style of the American westerns, musicals and gangster movies they love — and play both themselves and their victims. As their heroic facade crumbles, they come to question what they’ve done. Winner, 2014 BAFTA Film Award, Best Documentary.
"The Act of Killing" on POV airs Monday, October 6th at 9 pm on channel 3.