'The Look of Silence' returns to the disturbing story told in 'Act of Killing'
Joshua Oppenheimer鈥檚 鈥淭he Look of Silence,鈥� although it was filmed at聽roughly the same time as his 2012 Oscar-nominated聽documentary, 鈥淭he Act of Killing,鈥澛爄s a kind of sequel to "Act,"聽which focused on the 1965-66聽slaughter of almost a million Indonesian citizens (supposed communists)聽by the government and its cohorts. Oppenheimer devoted his entire film to聽the still-unrepentant killers, many of whom remain in power; he gave them聽free rein to describe in horrifying detail how they massacred their victims.聽He filmed them acting out scenes from their favorite gangster movies. For聽the most part, the killers look as if they鈥檙e having a high old time.聽
For many people, "Act" was a powerful indictment of violence and a聽work of art. I thought it was unconscionable. Oppenheimer may have聽thought that by giving these murderers center stage they would expose聽their bestiality for all to see (except themselves). But what comes across聽instead is something far more insidious: a showcase for depravity.
鈥淭he Look of Silence鈥� is about Adi, a 44-year-old Indonesian聽optometrist who was born two years after his brother was slaughtered in聽the massacres. In the course of the film he confronts several of his聽brother鈥檚 killers, all of whom are still living well, a few of them near聽Adi鈥檚 parents鈥� home. (Both of his parents are quite old 鈥� his father, over聽100, is no longer aware of his surroundings.)聽
My relief in watching this movie, which once again recounts the slaughters in great,聽almost fetishistic detail, is that at least the victims are聽allowed a voice this time. But as Adi sits down with one killer after聽another and gets essentially the same unrepentant responses, I wondered聽why this material hadn鈥檛 been included in 鈥淭he Act of Killing.鈥澛營s it because Oppenheimer wanted to preserve his dubious nonintervention aesthetic? In 鈥淭he Look of Silence,鈥� we are pulled back into聽the world of its predecessor, without any real payoff. Adi鈥檚 quest, no聽matter how he and Oppenheimer try to spin it, is inevitably doomed.聽
Which is not to say that, for Adi, the quest was not a spiritual necessity.聽For me, 鈥淭he Look of Silence鈥� partially atones for its predecessor, but I聽would hope that this is the last time we are asked to accompany聽Oppenheimer into this particular heart of darkness. Grade:聽B- (Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving disturbing graphic descriptions of atrocities and inhumanity.)
