The Act of Killing fingerprintMasterful craft, high energy, light on feelings.
Tense and violent
Builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
Deeply moving and melancholic
Some satire and dark humor
Not a comedy at heart.
Politics, society, and history
Lived-in and easy to get lost in.
Standout direction, performances, and storytelling
Layered plot that rewards full attention.
Standout editing and cinematography
Tense and violent
Builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
The Act of Killing is tense and violent. The story builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
Deeply moving and melancholic
Emotionally, it's deeply moving, melancholic, and cathartic.
Some satire and dark humor
Not a comedy at heart.
Expect some satire and dark humor.
Politics, society, and history
Lived-in and easy to get lost in.
Its world is built around politics, society, and history. The setting feels lived-in and easy to get lost in.
Standout direction, performances, and storytelling
Layered plot that rewards full attention.
The direction, performances, and storytelling stand out. The plot is layered and rewards full attention.
Standout editing and cinematography
Look and sound: the editing and cinematography stand out.
Based on the GoodWatch fingerprint: our scores for 70+ attributes of every movie. Select a row to see all of them.
A story of killers who win and the society they build.
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The Act of Killing2012
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Quick answers from GoodWatch data.
The Act of Killing is included with a subscription to Peacock, Netflix, and Peacock Premium+ in the United States. You can watch it free with ads on Kanopy, Filmzie, and Fawesome. You can also rent or buy it from Apple TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home. All links in Where to Watch go to these licensed services.
Yes. It's widely acclaimed, with a GoodWatch score of 88/100 (IMDb 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes 96%, and Metacritic 92). The GoodWatch score combines critic and audience ratings.
It's rated NR in the United States. Content advisories: violence, disturbing imagery, and suicide themes.
2 h 39 min
The Act of Killing runs 2 h 39 min.
Yes. It's based on real events or a real person's life.
Not quite. Critics rate The Act of Killing higher (94) than audiences (84). It may be more rewarding than it is crowd-pleasing.
No. It cost about $1 million to make and earned $722,714 worldwide, 72% of its budget.
It was made in Danish, with some Indonesian. Produced in Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom.
+8GoodWatch finds legal streaming, rental, or purchase options for The Act of Killing in 22 countries. Pick any of them in Where to Watch to see the local services.
8.2
