Compare and Contrast “Act of Killing” (2012) and “Night and Fog” (1956)

These two films both show the gruesome killing that happens in our world over the past 80 years. History is an important part of our lives and if we do not learn it and respect it our pride can lead us to our own downfall. These two stories share two different mass killings that happened 20 years apart in two different parts of the world. The first major difference between the two are the Directors. Joshua Oppenheimer Director of The Act of Killing  from the United States and Alain Resnais from france. This is the first comparison that makes a drastic creative feel to the film. Both feel very personal in two different ways. The Act of Killing helps us feel remorse for what the “war on communism” did to the world on an international scale. Because of the Red Scare a lot of innocent people died. It creates more of a “what have we done” feel,Whereas Night and Fog” creates much more of a “what was done to us” feeling. Both these feelings have the same compelling factor: do not let this happen again.

A major Difference between these two films is the cinematic style. Night and Fog Has what feels to be a very poetic approach. It shows Auschwitz from the present day in beautiful film colors, and tells the story as if it is a song coming from the beautiful countryside. A sad lullaby that the ground is singing of the horrible things that have happened there, it is asking us not to forget even though it may be so easy to. The change in color makes a big difference on how we feel that the story is being told from the past. It is not in order but shows different parts and pairs it with different footage. It leaves you with the most disturbing question of all: why did the Nazis film it.

The Act of Killing takes a very different approach. It tells it in a very narrative format, it follows along sequentially and everything that is filmed they capture. Instead of showing the horror it shows the people who did the acts reenact them. Similar to Night and Fog you feel the weight of the brutal things that happened, but even more sickening is they are recreating it in a comedic way and putting the sanctity of human life for show. It brings a similar question as did for Night and fog: why would you ever allow this to be filmed, followed by the even worse question: how can you be so okay with it?

These films both have very different forms of depicting mass genocide but both achieve the same goal: conveying how horrible these events are and how we cannot keep letting this happen. These documentaries show that even for having extremely different ways of producing and artistically showing these horrible events, that we as good people have to lead out in voicing our concern and keeping genocide from ever happening again.