Delayed Reaction: The Act of Killing

The Pitch: Let's film gangsters who committed genocide as they make a movie about it.

What Took Me So Long: This is the epitome of a movie that I need to be in the right head space for.

Why I Saw It: I had to see it. I've heard too much about it for too long not to. It is an unbelievable movie. I'm still not sure I can believe these guys exist. I'm sure they do but I can't wrap my head around them. So much of the movie would be funny if it wasn't so true. These men, Anwar in particular, have a matter of fact pride with only a hint of regret for the awful things they've done. I thought it is rough at the beginning when Anwar walks you through the "less messy" way of killing people with the wire. Then, by the end, the back to back of him watching the clip of them simulating the killing followed by revisiting his kill patio it reaches a whole different level. He seems genuinely clueless about how awful things he did were but it's obvious that there's some part of him, subconscious as it may be, that fully gets it.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Other than ruining my night, I have no complaints. It's a striking documentary that I'd like to recommend to others except I don't want to be responsible for the feelings it may evoke. Ok, one unavoidable gripe. I hated that it was a foreign movie. Not because I'm above reading subtitles. I say this because I didn't want to look away from what was happening but I had to to keep track of what was being said. Generally, that not a problem. In this case, it was an unavoidable one. I'll probably need to watch it again because of that.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend