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22

Something happened at a screening of The Look of Silence.

Packed house. People were sitting in the dim room prescreening, in that nice little anticipatory void when the screen is black and the house lights haven't quite gone out.

"This is the kind of movie people go alone to," said one woman, a couple rows ahead of me to her four companions. I nodded. Completely alone in the theater, social dictates mandated that I keep my thoughts to myself.

The lights went out. Rapt silence descended for a little over an hour and a half, a time that at once felt so much quicker and so much longer. The screen eventually fades to black, after this horrifying depiction of the…

Review by davidehrlich ★★★★½

astonishing.

Oppenheimer's THE ACT OF KILLING follow-up uses a blunter, equally brilliant conceptual approach for a more sedate and unsettling portrait of the Indonesian genocide and the rampant denial that has allowed the perpetrators to survive. the film doesn't get too caught up in the time-honored literary tradition of the revelatory optometrist, it's just one of the many tools Oppenheimer uses to mediate the memories... if the first film was predicated on a sensationalist feeling of HOLY SHIT, LOOK AT HOW THESE PEOPLE HAVE INTERNALIZED THEIR ATROCITIES, the second is happy to have that out of the way, free to instead consider not just what is ed, but how we change when it is forgotten. memory is not just an…

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★½ Liked

"Well, that's how it is... Life on earth. Feel free to take a photo."

8

You killed innocent people.

'I don't want to talk about politics.'

You tortured and massacred my family.

'You ask too many questions.'

How do you grant forgiveness to the people who do not ask for them? These people are absolutely blind towards the ugly, disgusting deeds that they've contributed to, be it directly or indirectly, even with newly prescribed glasses they've chosen to look the other way. Politics? Since when did people equate the word with bloodlust and ignorance? The arrogance of these murderers makes my blood boil. In the face of evil and corruption they offered silence, petty excuses, I am looking forward to the day hell is fully booked, won't be too long now.

Review by sprizzle ★★★★½

The poster is such a beautiful metaphor for this situation. These people can't see. They can't see the atrocities they've committed. They need someone to come and bring these horrors to light. So a glasses salesman sits them down and makes them answer for their actions...No matter how powerful the prescription I'm afraid they'll never be able to see.

Such a sad, hopeless situation. Such a great couple of documentaries.

1

90/100

If there's a more consistently human modern filmmaker than Joshua Oppenheimer, then please point the way. Back in 2012, he created one of the most appalling, essential films of our time, and now he's returned with a companion piece (although that is selling it short) entitled The Look of Silence, documenting the haunting aftermath and the silent vacuum surrounding open wounds. It is a revolutionary film, both in its questions and its answers, allowing an entire family to reach their respective points of understanding (or a lack thereof) without cloying film-making tactics or underlying motivation. It's a film where each scene is more horrifying than the last, building on a resonant sense of history where a cumulative voice of…

Review by matt lynch ★★★★ Liked

"Once, I brought a woman's head to a Chinese coffee shop."

just packed with lines like that. like THE ACT OF KILLING, i'm simply not capable of processing this rationally. Adam Curtis might label it something close to his "Oh Dearism", but it's so disarmingly, confrontationally personal -- you can just look into that motherfucker's eyes when he's saying that stuff -- that it appears, to me at least, entirely transcendent.

3

There are no words which can truly describe the power of silence within The Look of Silence. So much of the film relies on empty space, just moments left to stay blank as men describe horrors. It is the most powerful form of cinema, uncovering the darkest realities and leaving them to be judged. The Look of Silence is a companion piece to The Act of Killing, and is mostly a repeat of its ideas. However this film has a specific incident at its centre, moving the emphasis away from unnamed victims and into a personal story.

The Look of Silence is a film of killers confronted. Yet these murderers show no remorse, even though they are often uncomfortable with…

3

Deep focus photography, no score to speak of, and a multi-camera crew allow Oppenheimer to craft a much more visually striking, haunting, pensive film than the first half of this documentary series. There have been about four and a half hours of incisive exploration of the modern reverberations of the crimes of 1965, and yet, it still feels incomplete because justice is yet to be served. The currency of this and its companion do add a sense of urgency to them, a sense of being in the moment that sometimes creates tension that won't be there (I hope) in 50 years. Certainly it will feel like a shock to hear the legislative leader openly threaten to bring genocide back, but…

2

"Human blood is salty and sweet. I know from experience."

A year ago, I watched The Act of Killing, a film that chillingly portrays the perpetrators of the 1965-1966 Indonesian mass killings. Now, I've finally gotten around to watching Joshua Oppenheimer's other film; The Look of Silence, which offers a deeply moving and deeply disturbing counterpoint by focusing on the perspective of one of the victim's families in their search for justice.

"I'm not afraid of you."

It's a profoundly sad and infuriating film. Adi Rukun's courage in confronting the perpetrators of the 1965-1966 killings is truly astonishing. The scene where he calmly introduces himself to those involved in his brother's murder is the most impactful moment. This film successfully exposes the long-buried wounds of the past. While some parts might feel a bit drawn-out, the overall message is powerful. The Look of Silence is a haunting reminder of the importance of truth and justice.

5

Zwischen den Jahren 1965-1966 wurde unter dem General und späteren Präsidenten Indonesiens, General Suharto, an die „Mittglieder“ und „Sympathisanten“ der Kommunistischen Partei Indonesiens, kurz PKI, ein Massenmord verübt.

Nach Schätzungen fielen zwischen 500.000 bis 3 Millionen Menschen dem „Massaker in Indonesien 1965-1966“ zum Opfer.

Paramilitärische Todesschwadronen, angeworben von dem Militär die dadurch versuchten ihre Hände in Unschuld zu waschen – so ihre Hoffnung – durchsiebten ganze Stände nach Kommunisten und ihren Sympathisanten, ermordeten sie und warfen, oftmals, die Leichen zur Entsorgung in die angrenzenden Flüsse und Meere.

Joshua Oppenheimer zeigt uns, frei von jeden True-Crime-Dokus-Klischees, die Besuche des Optikers Adi Rukun, Bruder eines der Opfer 1965-1966. Auf seine Besuche, die ihn sowohl zu den Opfern wie den Tätern führt, erzählen…

Review by Dan ★★★★

Where The Act of Killing shows the perpetrators boastfully reenacting the 1965–66 Indonesian genocide in whatever style they please, laughing, gloating, revelling in impunity, The Look of Silence dares to go further. It stares directly into the hollow eyes of those murderers and calmly asks for answers. Not with rage, but with unwavering composure. Not to avenge, but to expose.

Through Adi Rukun, an optometrist whose brother Ramli was brutally murdered during the massacres, the film peels back the layers of denial and impunity that have long cloaked the nation. Adi does not scream. He does not accuse. He simply listens. He confronts. He watches their masks slowly crack. His bravery is staggering. In interrogating, he seems very quiet, composed,…