15 Most Controversial Films Of The Decade (So Far)

13. The Act Of Killing

What's It About? Joshua Oppenheimer's arresting and disturbing documentary The Act Of Killing offers an up close and very personal examination of the Indonesian genocide of 1965-66, in which more than half a million people were killed in the US-backed anti-communist purges. With the killers still in power today, the documentary interviews key players in the killings as they re-enact their crimes. Why Was It Controversial? It goes without saying that the film was controversial in the eyes of the Indonesian government, who have long banned anything dealing with their human rights violations. The Act Of Killing was also criticised for the way in which the filmmakers encouraged the perpetrators to play-act their killings, seeing it as a crass and unnecessary gimmick which cheapened the suffering of their victims. One thing that cannot be denied, however, is just how effective this approached turned out to be.