The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer
Shares rank 10 of 17 documentary films by recommenders
A documentary following former Indonesian death squad members as they reenact their 1960s killings, praised as haunting and deeply unsettling; critics raise no recurring complaint.
A documentary following former Indonesian death squad members as they reenact their 1960s killings, praised as haunting and deeply unsettling; critics raise no recurring complaint.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Permanently haunting and unsettling viewing
“The Act of Killing is near the top of my list of underappreciated films. Permanently haunting.”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “IDF Killed Gaza Aid Workers at Point Blank Range in 2025 Massacre: Report” “It was like I went to Germany 40 years after WW2 and found out the Nazis had won”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “ICE Is Going on a Surveillance Shopping Spree” “the only other film that's had the same effect on me as a Herzog documentary”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Werner Herzog in conversation with Paul Cronin (2014)” Exposes self-delusion behind atrocities
“the capacity for self-delusion in the face of horrific atrocities”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea” “probes into one of the most grotesque aspects of human nature”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “IDF Killed Gaza Aid Workers at Point Blank Range in 2025 Massacre: Report” Strong recommendations from viewers
“I hear 'The Act of Killing' is an amazing film.”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “I can't stop thinking about Papua New Guinea” “It's one of my favourite documentaries”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “IDF Killed Gaza Aid Workers at Point Blank Range in 2025 Massacre: Report”
Other documentary films people recommend
The four most recommended other documentary films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You Can See Everything | 39 | 30 | 57% | 2 | — | — |
| The Thinking Game | 15 | 8 | 65% | 3 | — | — |
| HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis | 14 | 1 | 93% | 7 | — | Approved |
| It's Quieter in the Twilight | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Act of Killing by Joshua OppenheimerThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I hear 'The Act of Killing' is an amazing film.”
“the capacity for self-delusion in the face of horrific atrocities”
“the only other film that's had the same effect on me as a Herzog documentary”
“I don't know how someone could call The Act of Killing or Five Broken Cameras dumbed down.”
“there's a documentary you can watch, about a man who was part of a government-sanctioned killsquad to kill a lot of "communists" in 1960's Indonesia”
“The Act of Killing is near the top of my list of underappreciated films. Permanently haunting.”
“It's one of my favourite documentaries”
“probes into one of the most grotesque aspects of human nature”
“It was like I went to Germany 40 years after WW2 and found out the Nazis had won”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.