What the hell did I just watch? The frack? Imagine an alternate universe where those who committed atrocities are lauded as heroes and can openly brag about their violent exploits then a filmmaker asks them to create a film about their (in)famous past. Except instead of an alternate universe, The Act of Killing takes place in Indonesia and is disturbing as hell. These old guys are like Quentin Tarantino’s nightmare-they used Hollywood films as inspiration for their mass killings. The worst part is that they casually continually victimize those around them: Chinese citizens, female gofers, a man helping with the reenactment & (inadvertently) their families. For one man, the reenactment eventually sparks an awakening of his victims’ humanity (or is he). The rest largely seem to be reliving their glory days except a couple seem to be aware that by openly and proudly exposing their past, they risk losing the popularity war. If that wasn’t enough, the reenactments are a peek into their minds & if it wasn’t based in reality, maybe a viewer could shrug it off as bad Italian horror from 60s & 70s meets some weird evil John Waters’ musical. Protect us from people with delusions of artistic & greater good grandeur who like to kill & rape. Criminal world meets the army meets journalists. Say what? You read correctly. I’m not going to recommend it without a caution to those without a strong stomach or the faint of heart. A fun fact to leave you with: the US supported these guys.