*
The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer’s follow up to The Act of Killing*. It deals with the 1965 genocide in Indonesia, in which an estimated one million people were slaughtered. Even that word feels too small for what actually happened.
While The Act of Killing focused on the perpetrators, this film stays with those who had to live with the aftermath. The documentary follows Adi, whose brother was murdered during the genocide. His family makes it clear that this is not something that ever ended. His father is senile and helpless. His mother is visibly marked by what she lived through. The violence is decades ago, but it is still there.
Much of the film consists of Adi sitting across from men who took part in the killings. He lets them talk. He listens while they describe what they did, often casually, sometimes even proudly. At first, they do not know who he is. Only later does he reveal his identity and begin to ask questions that make the situation uncomfortable. That is when things change and the tone shifts. The defensiveness sets in, some turn evasive, others aggressive.
After seeing The Act of Killing, this reaction is not surprising. What is harder to process is how untouched their self image still seems to be. There is no sense of responsibility, only justification or denial, even when they are confronted by someone directly affected.
By the end, the film leaves you speechless. Not just because of the history, but because of what Adi puts himself through. Watching him endure these encounters is often almost unbearable.
People should definitely see both documentaries. Together, they show different sides of crimes that resist understanding. The situation in Indonesia today feels like a warning of what happens when mass violence is never dealt with and the people responsible never face consequences.
*
The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer’s follow up to The Act of Killing*. It deals with the 1965 genocide in Indonesia, in which an estimated one million people were slaughtered. Even that word feels too small for what actually happened.
While The Act of Killing focused on the perpetrators, this film stays with those who had to live with the aftermath. The documentary follows Adi, whose brother was murdered during the genocide. His family makes it clear that this is not something that ever ended. His father is senile and helpless. His mother is visibly marked by what she lived through. The violence is decades ago, but it is still there.
Much of the film consists of Adi sitting across from men who took part in the killings. He lets them talk. He listens while they describe what they did, often casually, sometimes even proudly. At first, they do not know who he is. Only later does he reveal his identity and begin to ask questions that make the situation uncomfortable. That is when things change and the tone shifts. The defensiveness sets in, some turn evasive, others aggressive.
After seeing The Act of Killing, this reaction is not surprising. What is harder to process is how untouched their self image still seems to be. There is no sense of responsibility, only justification or denial, even when they are confronted by someone directly affected.
By the end, the film leaves you speechless. Not just because of the history, but because of what Adi puts himself through. Watching him endure these encounters is often almost unbearable.
People should definitely see both documentaries. Together, they show different sides of crimes that resist understanding. The situation in Indonesia today feels like a warning of what happens when mass violence is never dealt with and the people responsible never face consequences.
