12 Shocking Documentaries That Will Change How You See The World

The Act of Killing is a horrifying documentary about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-1966.

The events saw a right wing group murder somewhere between 500,000 to 1,000,000 members of a local communist community. The two leading gangsters focussed on are Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkaldry, and the film particularly looks at the way that Congo is revered as a right wing hero with particular reference to the death squads that he has inspired and the corrupt government officials who follow him.

Congo recounts his experiences in killing and creates films that depict the events, however imagination begins to take over the narrative. He plays the victim and questions whether or not he is in the wrong, finally beginning to imagine the pain he has caused. The Act of Killing is widely believed to be one of the greatest documentary films of this century and a psychological analysis of the impact that such a chilling event can have.