Jeanskynebu
the audience applauded
Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Jackson Booth-Millard
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, this Indonesian film is seen as almost a sequel, more a companion piece, to his previous Oscar winning documentary The Act of Killing, and it was one I had to see when it came to awards season. Basically a middle-aged man, whose brother was murdered during Indonesian killings of 1965–66, a purge of "communists", confronts the men who did the killings. For safety and concern for the man, he and man of the film's production crew are not fully identified, they are only credited as "anonymous". The film includes the man watching (what appears to be) extra footage from The Act of Killing, and video of the men who killed his brother. The man later visits some of the killers and their collaborators, including his uncle, who is pretending to have an eye exam, none of the killers appear to show any remorse, the daughter of one of them looks shaken hearing the details of the killings for the first time. Where the director's previous delivered many shocking moments and haunting footage of the real-life genocide, this follow-up film leaves most of the imagery to your imagination, there were certainly some terrible scenes of the killers admitting their crimes and almost smiling about it, and other horrible discussions, but not a lot is seen, you could argue this is a good thing and makes it less hard to watch and less shocking, but it is still an interesting documentary film. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Documentary. Very good!
Hellmant
'THE LOOK OF SILENCE': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A companion piece to director Joshua Oppenheimer's 2013 critically acclaimed documentary flick 'THE ACT OF KILLING'. The film centers around one man, who's brother was killed; during the Indonesian killings of 1965 to 1966. Oppenheimer once again directed the movie; which was nominated for an Academy Award, for Best Documentary Feature. I found it to be almost as good, as Oppenheimer's previous feature (which I ranked as one of the best of 2013). Oppenheimer follows an Indonesian man around, that survived the 1965 genocide; by the name of Adi Rukun. Adi's brother, Ramli, was brutally killed; during the 'communist' purge (as a young boy). Adi now wants to confront Ramli's suspected killers (with Oppenheimer's help). He bravely interviews these men, under the pretense of an eye examiner, and seeks uncomfortable answers; as the viewer awkwardly watches. The movie is extremely disturbing, and hard to watch; like it's predecessor. It's also very moving, at times, but never truly satisfying; as Adi can never truly get the honest answers he's looking for (and the suspected culprits show no remorse, of any kind). It's yet another masterpiece, from Oppenheimer; but some will feel like it's just an extension of the other film. That didn't bother me though.watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/A1MyBFioKXM
DareDevilKid
Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)Rating: 4.5/5 starsA terrifying study in mass moral rationalization, "The Look of Silence" finds documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer returning to the subject matter of his Oscar-nominated "The Act of Killing". That film was about the slaughter of some one million communists in Indonesia in the mid 60s. Oppenheimer met with some of the many killers - none of whom were ever punished and who mostly consider themselves heroes - and had them re-enact the murders they committed. It was grisly and at times surreal. Astonishingly, Oppenheimer has followed his 2013 documentary with an even more powerful film that features much more soul- pricking confrontation.There's nothing surreal about "The Look of Silence"; it's painfully real. In it, Oppenheimer follows a possibly foolish albeit immensely brave and deeply compassionate man named Adi Rukun as he searches out the many people responsible for the particularly gruesome slaughter of his brother, Ramli, who was killed before Adi was even born. The murderers - known as leaders of death squads assigned to different villages - who were sanctioned by the then military upheaval, have lived right alongside the families of the people they killed for more than fifty years now. Many have become rich and powerful. The slaughter is taught as a positive thing in elementary school. One killer even wrote a book - with illustrations - about his exploits.Adi, an optician by profession, uses eye tests as a ruse to get the killers talking. He quickly finds that none of them express regret. It's a frightening illustration of how cavalier the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing can be about their heinous acts. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer seeks out the two men who actually killed Ramli, and they happily take him to the riverside site of the murder and reenact it, after which they smilingly pose for a snapshot. Oppenheimer also spends a great deal of time with Adi's parents - his blind, senile, 103- year-old father and still-grieving, bitter mother. Their rustic village world and the beautiful tropic setting serve as an odd contrast to the countless tales of violence.It isn't clear exactly what Adi is hoping to accomplish - he's unearthing the truth, sure, but no one seems to care much. It's as if an entire country has just agreed to forget, or rewrite, its own awful history, even as this compelling documentary yanks our attention to the fact that the architects of a massive tragedy remain free and unrepentant, serving a chilling warning that it could all happen again. This leaves Adi acquiescingly and stoically listening to horror stories from the perpetrators' mouths, even as you sense the seething outrage behind his eyes. Replete with the potential to induce nausea, "The Look of Silence" is so disturbing because so few people in it seem disturbed.
R Bruce Hudson
Focussing on a single family who during what is now known as a genocide in the late 1960s, who lost their eldest son. Adi, who wasn't born at that time, has a deep and personal commitment to not just finding answers that his whole family was asking, but to setting his country on a path of truth and reconciliation. Amazingly, the perpetrators of the genocide were still in positions of power. The interview showed Adi time and again facing perpetrators of the genocide – those indirectly involved with his brother's killing – and later with those who were directly involved. Throughout the documentary, Adi showed his calm nature, even when tested and even when displaying his resilience and determination to hear the truth. While steps were taken to protect Adi, thinly veiled threats to his safety where made – leaving the viewer in no doubt that he had literally put his life on the line.Adi in person, at the Q&A session after the showing at Telluride, his answers (translated by director Joshua), his persona and his body language conveyed a disarming softness, a humbleness and an absolute commitment to the truth and reconciliation of his country.I was honored to shake Adi's hand, to exchange a few words of greeting.There is no doubt in my mind that I was in the presence of someone very special, someone who through his own deep and personal commitment was in the process of making the world a better place.
