The Act of Killing ending explained

What happens

Anwar returns to the rooftop where he killed and, after watching himself on screen, gags and retches again and again. The film cuts there, then rolls credits filled with anonymous names. It reveals a body reacting where words fail.

The last image

Anwar on the rooftop, doubled over and retching, with nothing said, before the credits list crew members as Anonymous.

Three readings

1 · Conscience breaking throughHis body finally registers what he did.

2 · Shock at himselfHe is reacting to seeing his own performance, not to the victims.

3 · Memory, not remorseIt is real, but the film never calls it guilt.

What it says

The ending refuses easy redemption. After the fantasies and applause, one unscripted reaction is all you get, and what it means is left to you. The anonymous credits remind you the danger, and the silence around it, is still present.