I watched the director's cut of The Act of Killing, and good Lord, is it too damn long. I was feeling antsy and more than a little bored well before it hit the two hour mark, so I don't think I would have any more appreciation for the theatrical cut.

For me, the problem with The Act of Killing is that it is burdened by Joshua Oppenheimer's original intent when going to Indonesia: interviewing and filming the stories of survivors of the 1965-66 killings. But talking to the survivors proved extremely dangerous for everyone, and the only ones left alive who knew exactly what the death squads had done were the members of the death squads. So the documentary makes the villains the stars of the film, with only a short cameo by survivor.

I get the feeling that this didn't sit well with Oppenheimer, and so he had to make sure he gave these villains enough rope to hang themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of the screen time spent with the paramilitary group and various mustache-twirling politicians ultimately feels excessive. It helps set the stage, but at 100 minutes in, we don't need to be introduced to some new evil asshole, basking in his evil assholery, who promptly disappears and bears absolutely no impact on the film overall. It's like Oppenheimer didn't trust his audience to recognize the evil elephant in the room unless he pointed it out to them over and over and over again. But the more we see them, the less they seem to connect to Anwar's story and the whole thing seems to drag on forever.

There are two people I would've like to see more of: Anwar's friend, Adi Zulkadry, and Suryono, the man who told the story of his stepfather's murder. To be honest, I'm not sure in what way further footage of Suryono would be able to help tell the story, but it sure would be nice to hear a bit more from survivors of the killings rather than the perpetrators. Adi, on the other hand, is such an interesting contrast to Anwar. He is hyper-aware of the evil he has wrought. He seems rather well-educated, knowledgeable about the politics involved, that no good can actually come of them making this movie that seeks to glorify their brutality. His grim pragmatism is a bit terrifying, but it doesn't seem to have given him much more peace of mind than Anwar.

I should point out, because the movie doesn't, you only find this sort of open bragging about the massacres in Northern Sumatra. A lot of people were killed in Bali and Java as well, but it's only in Sumatra, where the death squads were led by organized crime, that you'll find people willing to be so incredibly frank about their crimes.

Also, the confusion over the word "gangster" is because the subtitles fail to distinguish between the English word, the Indonesian word, and the Dutch root word. The Indonesian word is preman, and roughly translates to hoodlum, thug or gangster. However it is based on the Dutch root word, which actually does mean "free man."

Eddie, I love the fuck out of you presenting. Do that more - point them the way you want them to go, and nudge them along to drive discussion with questions.

Does anyone else want to hang out with Eddie and drink beer at this point?

Last edited by Dave (2013-09-16 13:03:44)

Woodstock doc and Gimmie Shelter would be interesting.

A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to the Gathering of the Juggalos to film the 'counterculture' of today, and the thought of being in that place with no easy way to get out was so scary.

After watching Gimmie Shelter and Woodstock, I was like...fuck marry kill...

I'm still not sure.

I think:

Marry: Woodstock (boring, but won't hit me and Janis Joplin is so cool)

Fuck: Altamont (because Mick Jagger)

Kill: Gathering of the Juggalos (no Mick Jagger and scary drugs)

Also there are issues around the Maysles brothers access, and the split screen Woodstock stuff that I would love to hear you guys talk about.

You're friends with Geoff LaTulippe? I follow him on Twitter! He's great, very smart.

He and I befriended on Twitter over Fight-nerdery, and we have a mutual friend in Drew McWeeny. fI've been ot his house a few times for fights.  Great dude.  He had, what I think is the best path towards professional screenwriter in that he was a reader for a number of years.  You want to write scripts better, you gotta read a TON of them.

They're gonna seem like they have nothing to do with each other, and plot wise, they probably don't.  But paired together, they surprisingly cover similar ground.

I am looking forward to all of these but especially Episode 3.

Docs about the industry tend to be a bit too inside baseball for me.  I watch docs because I have questions about subjects, and I want those questions explored if not answered.  I don't want to be lectured about a subject, I want to be told a story.

Blackfish is on CNN... Now (EST)...

"Life is about movies; anything else is a bonus!"- Me   

Still can't decide whether I like The Act of Killing better than Stories. I think I'd cast my vote for Polley, actually.

American Movie could be ok with the movie making ones.   Or you could pair American Movie with Grizzly Man and do a "People who probably should be eaten by bears" subject.