Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
The Look of Silence
Rating: 5/5
Joshua Oppenheimer grabbed everyone's attention back in 2013 with documentary The Act of Killing and now he is back with an accompanying film The Look of Silence.
The Look of Silence sees the director return to the Indonesian killing fields and this time explores a family who survived the massacre. Once again, Oppenheimer has delivered another incredibly powerful documentary that is one of the stand out films in this genre so far this year.
The Look of Silence follows a family who survived the Indonesian genocide. However, they discover how was one of their sons was murdered and the man who killed him. The younger brother wants to break the silence on the event and confront the man who took his brother's life.
The Act of Killing is a film that stayed with you long after the credits rolled and Oppenheimer has achieved the same effect with The Look of Silence. This is by far one of the most hard-hitting documentaries of 2015 so far, it will break your heart as much as it will totally engross you.
From start to finish, this is a tense and rather bleak documentary that really does stay with you and give you plenty to think about afterwards.
It seemed almost impossible that Oppenheimer could craft a movie as wonderfully as The Act of Killing, but The Look of Silence really has delivered on every front.
Of course, there is a lot of darkness in the film, but The Look of Silence is about the unbreakable human spirit and the fight for the right to discover the truth and to acknowledge and remember all those who were murdered during this time in Indonesia.
I like the intimate nature of The Look of Silence as Oppenheimer delves into the story and the pain of one family. However, the heart-breaking thing is, there are families all over Indonesia who find themselves faces with the same questions and decisions.
The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence are two revolutionary documentaries that have been crafted with care by director Joshua Oppenheimer. He has spent years dedicated to bringing these stories to light, researching, and gaining people's trust.
All this has resulted in not one but two stunning movies that finally puts this harrowing topic of Indonesian genocide in the spotlight and gives those that lived through it a voice.
There is no documentary that will hit harder than The Look of Silence this year and Oppenheimer must be applauded for what he has achieved with both of these unmissable films.