The Look of Silence

Name: The Look of Silence
Genre: Documentary
Released: July 17, 2015
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 92

2015

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Universal acclaim based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 87 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 87 Ratings

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The Look Of Silence

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Movie Details & Credits

Drafthouse Films | Release Date: July 17, 2015 | PG-13

Summary: The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer's powerful companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated The Act of Killing. Through Oppenheimer's footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, anThe Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer's powerful companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated The Act of Killing. Through Oppenheimer's footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, an optometrist named Adi, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by doing something unimaginable in a society where the murderers remain in power: he confronts the men who killed his brother and, while testing their eyesight, asks them to accept responsibility for their actions.… Expand

Director: Joshua Oppenheimer

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 103 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Marc Savlov

Aug 12, 2015

Harrowing and important documentary. Read full review

100

Empire David Hughes

Jul 13, 2015

As bleak, unflinching and utterly unmissable as its predecessor. Read full review

100

Joe Morgenstern

Jul 23, 2015

His film makes it clear that these monstrous humans are very much a part of our species. In a way, I wish I’d never seen The Look of Silence, because now I won’t be able to forget it. But that’s the point, and the film’s purpose—calling attention to the cost of staying silent, and willfully forgetful, in the face of implacable evil. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

Jul 14, 2015

If it's a far less flashy film than The Act of Killing, it's also a better and possibly more honest one. Read full review

Dana Stevens

Jul 23, 2015

[It] isn't quite documentary filmmaking, but it certainly (and sickeningly) isn't fiction either. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Aug 13, 2015

Painful and unforgettable — a serious and honorable form, perhaps the highest, of "gotcha" journalism imaginable. Read full review

James Lattimer

Jul 13, 2015

If The Look of Silence still remains a gripping, vital, consequential documentary, it's in spite of its approach rather than because of it. Read full review

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User Reviews

EpicLadySponge

Mar 18, 2016

I can still love something even if it means giving support to those critics who actually gave movies a great score such as this one. Oh, look, a 0 in here. You know what that means.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

kathytreece

Feb 18, 2016

A very serious documentary showing a situation (from the 1960's) in Indonesia that was very sad to watch. Pretty scenery, but very sad situation. What a courageous man is the main character. Plus it was cool to see how a healthy senior citizen (over age 90) lives in Indonesia. And, IA very serious documentary showing a situation (from the 1960's) in Indonesia that was very sad to watch. Pretty scenery, but very sad situation. What a courageous man is the main character. Plus it was cool to see how a healthy senior citizen (over age 90) lives in Indonesia. And, I enjoyed the humor shared between the main character and his parents. I saw this movie on Netflix dvd.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Nov 30, 2022

From this same director I preferred The Killing Fields, I particularly liked it more, however, without diminishing it in any way this documentary is equally a harrowing and shattering experience.
A success of course, but one that is not easy to watch.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Ultimobeaker

Jun 13, 2021

A way more traditional documentary (perspective piece) film than its sister film The Act of Killing. Whereas AoK was grand in scope and consequence, The Look of Silence is a narrower, personal take on the same Indonesian genocide. Though this film definitely succeeds in tugging on theA way more traditional documentary (perspective piece) film than its sister film The Act of Killing. Whereas AoK was grand in scope and consequence, The Look of Silence is a narrower, personal take on the same Indonesian genocide. Though this film definitely succeeds in tugging on the heartstrings (more of a yank), it does not quite reach the heights of its predecessor in terms of originality, artistic achievement, or self-reflective impact. Regardless, its a story that should be told and a film worthy of that story.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

FilmPhonic

Jul 19, 2015

A companion piece for Oppenheimer's powerful 2012 documentary 'The Act of Killing', 'The Look of Silence' takes a more introspective view of the events where a failed military coup was blamed on "communists" and prompted the military government to foster a general hatred leading to anA companion piece for Oppenheimer's powerful 2012 documentary 'The Act of Killing', 'The Look of Silence' takes a more introspective view of the events where a failed military coup was blamed on "communists" and prompted the military government to foster a general hatred leading to an anti-communist "purge" that brutally claimed the lives of at least half a million people, made all the worse by the negligence and often complicity of Western governments that were utterly consumed with the cold war and fighting communism, a stance which led to atrocities across the globe with Central & South America and other parts of South-East Asia getting more attention than Indonesia.

Oppenheimer gives the narrative a more personal touch by focusing on a single family and the effect of losing their brother in such a senseless and brutal manner, the legacy of the killings you might expect would have the same harrowing effect on hundreds of thousands of families and the country as a whole, hence the title whereby families continue to suffer in silence with many of the perpetrators still in power and apparently untouchable.

With a lack of almost any archival footage or photographic evidence 'The Look of Silence' relies on the testimonies of victims and their families and the disturbingly candid & borderline boastful descriptions from the perpetrators for dramatic content, depending on your point of view this might make it a more or less powerful film but given that there is no way to independently confirm what happened between 1965-66 it might make the whole documentary somewhat controversial.

The Bottom Line...
A powerful and personalized account of one of the more overlooked genocides in recent history, 'The Look of Silence' is a stark warning against stoking the fires of political & religious hatred and most effective when accompanying Oppneheimer's 2012 documentary 'The Act of Killing'.… Expand

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

o_rety

Feb 20, 2021

'm not an Indonesian and I found this lacking in substance. It could be easily edited and compressed to like 25 min. War is never nice and domestic ones are the worst. I don't know the country's history enough to judge who was right in this conflict but I've seen enough of this movie to'm not an Indonesian and I found this lacking in substance. It could be easily edited and compressed to like 25 min. War is never nice and domestic ones are the worst. I don't know the country's history enough to judge who was right in this conflict but I've seen enough of this movie to judge it's not even trying to be impartial. And no, stating that communists are godless and immoral is not propaganda. If they were God-fearing, moral people, they weren't communists.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

shineandre

Jul 20, 2015

Disappointed. Really guys don't go watch this low grade porn effected spy perversion. Value life's beauty and your moral conscience. It's just another Nielsen's copy loaded with sexual graphics that leaves the movie tasteless. No imagination just slap in your face.

2 of 33 users found this helpful231

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