|
Brilliant. An intensely interesting look into the 60's Indonesian communist genocide and subsequent societal reaction and adaptation to the event. While it will never be accused of being neutral, the film starts at such an insane predicament to launch from (make a deal with a state sanctioned mass murderer to recreate and film his crimes based on different Hollywood genres) it just dawdles along getting crazier the longer it goes. While the actual recreated scenes are used as fillers, the morbid fascination of the filmmaker infects the audience and you can't help but sit back and at times be overwhelmed by how messed up the entire situation is. The main highlight (if you can call it that) for me was being able to see that behind the executioner's stories you knew that they knew they were monsters, but were stubbornly holding onto the idea that because they had never been punished they shouldn't feel guilt. Watching them desperately hold onto that ideal is what the film hinges on and makes it so compelling. 5/5
|
#
?
Nov 21, 2013 11:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:07 |
|
|
After having this on my Netflix list forever, I finally watched it last night. Really a special film. I think the the capacity for evil that lies within normal people has been explored well before, but I haven't seen anything this good in terms of exploring the humanity present within the most evil people. For me the scene that hit the hardest was the old war criminal Anwar watching kids play with baby ducks, and stressing that they must be gentle and not hurt the ducks, and apologize if they do. It's sincere. It's anyone's kindly grandfather. It's a monster who did things too terrible to even start to comprehend. There's certainly more to the movie than that, but that's what hit home in the deepest way for me. That and the way staging these scenes makes all of them revisit and remember what they've done, and see how it compares to the stories they've told themselves and others all these years. This is not an easy or pleasant movie to watch, but it is very very good. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2014 16:32
|
|
