RIFLE RANGE BOY: "War crimes are defined by the winners, and I'm a winner."

The Act of Killing (Jagal, 2012, Indonesian, documentary)
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer

As we have always seen, we, humans are a bunch of brainless animals. We do so much atrocity in the name of justice without even thinking of its repercussions. At the end of the day, we can only 'Sorry' and think that some how like magic, everything would be wiped clean from our slate and start a fresh count. Alternatively, we justify our acts by invoking rationalization of preserving of a piece of cloth, race, ideology or religion!
The documentary which drew worldwide accolade is also rumoured to be reason behind Obama's cancellation of his visit to Indonesia last year!
In 1965, during the oust of Sukarno, there was a real risk of communism taking a foothold in Indonesia. A group civilian vigilante group, made mostly of jobless gangsters, with the auspices of the ruling government of the day went around nabbing communists and communist sympathizers, torturing and killing them in most heinous ways.
The directors of the documentary went to Medan, North Sumatera, to interview a well known figure there, Anwar Congo and his henchman, Herman Kato. He convinced them to detail the killings that they did in the 1965-66 era when the Communist is said to have assassinated Sukarno. Anwar even called in his fellow gangsters all over the country, some of them are rich politicians now, to reenact the whole scene. Even the local newspaper editor was in cahoots with their activities.
The gruesome details of the killings were detailed. They seem to be unashamedly proud of their actions of what they done for the country and had become part of Indonesia's history.
Anwar brings the crew to the site where he used to kill his subjects with his favourite weapon, the steel wire as it left less blood and less stench!

Anwar and his crew were jobless youths selling black-market movie tickets when they were recruited to eradicate the communists. Having nothing much to do around, they chose that path and now boast to have killed 1000 people.
All the people interviewed seem quite proud of what they have done and even boast about it. By and large, it was a witch-hunt for the communists who predominantly were ethnic Chinese. These preman (gangsters, from the word free man) burnt houses, raped, pilfered, robbed and at yet they all walk free under the protection of the present government. They are hailed as national icons and as founders of the youth Pancasila movement which is still present today and acts like a emergency mobile vigilante for the country.

As some flaunt their new found wealth and luxurious lifestyles, Anwar lives under constant recurrent nightmare of the eyes of his victims staring at him in his sleep. They do, however, admit what they did under the name of democracy was far worse than what the communists were said to have done.
Most ex-vigilantes have contradictory lives, talking dirty jokes at one minute and almost immediately reciting prayers when necessary in the same breath. Anwar himself is a doting grandfather who teaches his grandchildren to be kind to animals!
In the last scene, though the ingenuity may be questioned, he revisits his 'killing field' (top balcony of a building) to retch and shed a tear or two.