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The Act of Killing poster

Movies that feel likeThe Act of Killing (2012)

After befriending documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various American film genres. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia's 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.

If you loved The Act of Killing, the closest films we have are The Look of Silence (2014), The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014) and The Ambassador (2011). All three share The Act of Killing's contemplative and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004).

🍅 96% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Joshua Oppenheimercontemplativeepic
6 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Paramount Plus Essential

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If The Act of Killing hit the spot, these will too

The Look of Silence poster
The Look of Silence
2014 · dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
🍅 96%★ 8.2history · documentary

Joshua Oppenheimer directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

An Indonesian man with a communist background named Ramli was brutally murdered when the "Communist" purge occurred in 1965. His remaining family members lived in fear and silence until the making of this documentary. Adi, a brother of his, decided to revisit the horrific incident and visited the men who were responsible for the killings and one survivor of the purge. These meetings uncovered sadistic details of the murders and exposed raw emotions and reactions of the killers' family members about what happened in the past - much to Adi's disappointment.

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young poster
🍅 60%★ 7.7documentary · history

Contemplative where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

In its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.

The Ambassador poster
The Ambassador
2011 · dir. Mads Brügger
🍅 71%★ 7.2documentary · history

Contemplative documentary in both cases

Danish journalist Mads Brügger goes undercover as a Liberian Ambassador to embark on a dangerous yet hysterical journey to uncover the blood diamond trade in Africa.

Los Angeles Plays Itself poster
Los Angeles Plays Itself
2004 · dir. Thom Andersen
🍅 96%★ 7.8documentary · history

History built on scale, twice over

From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.

Labyrinth of Lies poster
Labyrinth of Lies
2014 · dir. Giulio Ricciarelli
🍅 83%★ 7.3drama · history

Contemplative history, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to drama than The Act of Killing does

A young prosecutor in postwar West Germany investigates a massive conspiracy to cover up the Nazi pasts of prominent public figures.

Paris Is Burning poster
Paris Is Burning
1991 · dir. Jennie Livingston
🍅 99%★ 8.2documentary · historyMax

Documentary with a pulse of scale, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
2001 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 95%★ 8.1adventure · drama · history

Both play history straight

The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.

The Girl with the Needle poster
The Girl with the Needle
2024 · dir. Magnus von Horn
🍅 93%★ 7.5drama · historyRent or buy

Both working the same history territory

Struggling to survive in post-WWI Copenhagen, a newly unemployed and pregnant young woman is taken in by a charismatic elder to help run an underground adoption agency. The two form an unexpected bond, until a sudden discovery changes everything.

Borg vs McEnroe poster
Borg vs McEnroe
2017 · dir. Janus Metz
🍅 84%★ 6.9drama · historyNetflixParamount+

The history is handled with the same confidence

The Swedish Björn Borg and the American John McEnroe, the best tennis players in the world, maintain a legendary duel during the 1980 Wimbledon tournament.

Wolf Totem poster
Wolf Totem
2015 · dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
🍅 67%★ 6.6adventure · drama

Contemporaries, and it shows

In 1969, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.

Milk poster
Milk
2008 · dir. Gus Van Sant
🍅 93%★ 7.5history · drama

History in the same key

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

Night and Fog poster
Night and Fog
1956 · dir. Alain Resnais
★ 8.6documentary · historyMax

Documentary of the same temperament

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

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