A companion piece to Joshua Oppenheimer’s previous documentary about the bloody history of genocide in Indonesia The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence takes a more intimate and contemplative approach. Where the previous film featured bombastic murderers and gangsters giving elaborate reenactments of their brutal killings, this documentary focuses on one victim’s family and their quiet confrontation with the pain of the past.
Could you look directly into the eyes of the people who murdered your brother, your son? What questions would you ask the killers? What forgiveness could you offer, if any? In raising these questions, we recognize the film’s title: the pained, stoic stare of the victim’s brother, Adi, as he gazes directly into human depravity and doesn’t blink.
Oppenheimer’s camera also serves as a silent witness to the murderers’ confessions and Adi’s struggle to find justice and meaning in a seemingly hopeless situation. The Look of Silence is a powerful, devastating, and haunting film, one that offers a picture of grace in the quiet optometrist who refuses to avoid his confrontation with injustice. —Joel Mayward (2015)
Arts & Faith Lists:
2015 Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury — #6