The Look Of Silence | Joshua Oppenheimer | NYFF 2014
In 2012, director Joshua Oppenheimer released his powerful documentary The Act Of Killing (see Shane’s review here), a startling look at the Indonesian genocide of the mid 1960’s. For those unfamiliar with this particular bit of history, it was a mass murder of suspected communists by the military who had overthrown the government. Those who ordered the atrocities stayed in power years later, even after committing the crimes.
It’s two years since it’s release and Oppenheimer has returned with it’s follow-up, The Look Of Silence. This time around we follow a man named Adi, whose older brother was murdered during the killings. Adi is a optometrist, and sets up medical appointments with high ranking men within the military who played a role in the murders. The men think he’s just there for medical reasons, but in fact, he’s there to confront them about their actions on the spot, and see how they respond.
We become close to Adi by first learning about his elderly mother and father, the latter who is 103-years-old, and relies on his wife completely for care. We meet Adi’s own wife and children. Then we images of Adi watching a TV playing previous interviews that Oppenheimer conducted with two of the men directly responsible with his brothers death. They gloat and are proud about what they did to him, showing pride, not remorse. This is followed by shots of Adi staring emotionlessly into the screen, at a loss for words. It’s a hit into your gut. You are sickened, want answers, but also at a loss for words.
After performing his medical duties, Adi confronts the men and often their children and family. Each individual reacts somewhat differently, but most of them deny direct responsibility, passing the blame onto someone else, usually saying that they were just following orders. It’s a constant game of hot potato, where the fingers is pointed towards the next man, until there’s no one left to blame (“The past is the past.”) Oppenheimer captures these interviews in a very direct, uncompromising manner, as if we are right there alongside Adi, uncomfortably close. Cinematographer Lars Skree captures it all with crystal clear picture, making it devastatingly real.
Seeing all these men responsible for such disgusting crimes living a comfortable life with often with no sense of remorse is a tough pill to swallow. Adi and Oppenheimer have the courage to challenge these men right in front of their faces, and yet, these man cannot reciprocate the honesty. Some of them are now senile, and don’t even remember who they are, let alone what they did many years ago. At what point do you forgive and forget, when justice is never, and can never, be truly served.
This is a powerful and haunting documentary that evaluates many different sides of humanity, giving the audience plenty to hold on to and think about as they search within themselves for their own answers. That’s a surefire sign that Mr. Oppenheimer did his job.
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