The Look of Silence (2014)
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 99 minuten
Alternative title: Senyap
Country:
Denmark / Indonesia / Finland / Norway / United Kingdom / Israel / France / United States / Germany / Netherlands
Directed by: Joshua Oppenheimer
Starst: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun and Amir Hasan
IMDb score:
8,2 (14.855)
Releasedate: 30 August 2014
The Look of Silence plot
By watching an earlier documentary by Joshua Oppenheimer, a family discovers how their son was murdered in 1965-1966 and who the men are who killed him. The youngest son now wonders how he can raise his children in a society where survivors are terrorized into silence and the killers into heroes. Looking for answers, he decides to confront each of the remaining killers who were involved in his brother's murder.
Actors and actresses
Himself, brother of murdered Ramli Rukun
Himself, former commander of a civilian militia
Himself, former leader of death squad (archive footage)
Himself, former leader the village death squad
Himself, survivor from Snake River massacre
Self (voice)
Himself, former commander of Snake River death squads
Himself, reporter, NBC News (archive footage)
Reviews & comments
IH88
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- 9771 messages
- 3192 votes
“Some killed so many people who have gone mad. A man climbed a palm tree, every morning, to call for prayer. Killed too many people. There is only one way to avoid it. Drink the blood or go crazy. But if you drink blood, you can do anything.”
Great documentary by Joshua Oppenheimer. It is almost unbelievable how easily these people talk about their murders (and especially the way the murders were committed), and the way they justify it is frustrating but also intriguing to watch. The murderers are still protected, which of course also makes it easier to talk freely.
The control of Adi Rukun, who lost his brother to those same people, is incredible and you can see the grief radiating from him. Especially when it turns out that his uncle also does not have clean hands. Oppenheimer's direction is recording and he himself does not speak, but he lets the images do the work. And with Rukun he also has someone who is very skilled in asking the right questions and ensures that you become emotionally involved in his story. That the murderers still have such a great influence on Indonesian politics and are protected is scandalous, but unfortunately not surprising.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Another disturbing documentary about the Indonesian regime and the massacres in 1965-1966. Oppenheimer knits at least a strong sequel to The act of killing. I was touched several times by the indifference and the idea of the necessity of these atrocities against humanity, just because one would have been a communist (!).
Impressive how Adi managed to control his emotions, but especially his anger towards these criminals who were never punished for their actions, on the contrary. They are still praised for it and his mother was afraid that Adi would risk being killed with his tricky questions. Excellent sharp questions by the way from Adi.
The propaganda continues when you see children being taught about the 'old' times. Communists were bad and had to be exterminated. The end of the documentary was also strong, where the real people responsible for the murder of his brother were interviewed. Few people seen with a sense of guilt, except for that one daughter who was affected by it. Shocking ...
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 11794 messages
- 10141 votes
Born in 1968, Adi is an optician in an Indonesian village where a military coup in 1965 led to a massacre of suspected communists. One of the victims was Adi's brother Ramli. Two old men tell in great detail on a refined home video what they did to Ramli. Adi also talks to his parents and other people involved in the massacre, who are still neighbors 50 years later. The title refers to the long, painful silences that regularly follow Adi's sharp questions or remarks, although he always behaves remarkably respectfully. Oppenheimer not only shows how easy it can be to turn uneducated, strictly religious people into mass murderers, but also how they pass the buck for an uncomfortable peace that is not so obvious to them.
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