The Look of Silence

I’ve always imagined that if I ever took over the world, I’d implement a ton of fresh guidelines and holidays that the entire globe would love and embrace me for. Every Wednesday would be Breakdance Wednesday, a day where you would be required to break out a series of tight moves before you were allowed into your school or your job that morning. And how good your moves were would determine just how long of a lunch you were allowed to have on this amazing day. Ill moves could get you a 90 minute lunch break with your family and friends, whereas wack moves might have you serving lunch to those who actually brought the funk earlier that morning. But don’t get too bent out of shape on that last part, I’m still working out all of the details.

There would also be fresh holidays like WillisFest Wannukah; a week long celebration of Bruce Willis films where everyone could relive the glory days of Die Hard and Look Who’s Talking Too. You would be forced to work in at least one Willis quote per conversation; something along the lines of "You touch me again, I’ll kill ya!"The Last Boy Scout or "Now cowboy the f up" Tears From the Sun. Again, I’m still working out the details.

But the point is, my world would be infinitely better than the world Adolph Hitler would have ruled had he actually won the war. Imagine a butcher like him being in control, lying about how he took over, and basically forcing the entire country to celebrate him and his SS generals as if they were heroes. Well that’s basically what happened in Indonesia.

Back in 1965, the Indonesian army revolted and overthrew its government. They did so under the guise of an anti-Communism campaign but in reality all they really wanted was to be in power and to be among the country’s elite. Anyone who opposed their new reign was automatically labelled a Communist who lacked morals and religion; and the punishment for this dissension was death. In over a year’s time they managed to savagely kill over 500,000 (the documentary gives a larger number than that) innocent people and in the process got rich off of their leftover possessions. In many cases they not only took their money but also their wives.

Well in Oscar nominated director Josh Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence, we see the after effects of this revolution through the eyes of Adi Rukun. Adi was born two years after the mass killings but his brother Ramli was unfortunately a victim of these terrible events. Adi is the optometrist in a small village(this explains the film’s opening scene and it’s most memorable image) in Indonesia where nearly 1600 people were butchered. He services not only the victims’ families but also the generals and their families, who live rather opulently right next to their terrified neighbors.

Most people in the village deny the fact that the killings ever even happened and the few that do recognize what happened are too scared to talk about it. They are afraid to open up what they called healed wounds as they are constantly reminded of what took place during that dark period when they see these evil terrorists just going about their daily business or even when their kids are simply going to school. Learning about how awful the Communists were and how poorly they were treated as a result of it is a part of the normal curriculum.

But sadly this isn’t the worst of it. Oppenheimer first introduces you to Adi’s parents, and in almost a poetic fashion, Ramli’s brutal murder is told to you through the dream of his heartbroken mother. You can’t help but feel her pain as she describes the last few hours of her son’s life and how she begs his killers to show him mercy.

You also see shot after shot of his despondent and horrified brother'sreaction as he sits through a recording of Ramli’s murderers almost gleefully describing what they did back then. And you also see the risks poor Adi is taking as he confronts some of the people who were responsible for these events.

This is easily one of the most powerful films I’ve seen quite some time and I truly believe that it’s a story everyone needs to hear. Bravo to Mr. Oppenheimer for making such a poignant and powerful movie; he deserves every accolade he is going to get once award season rolls around and I give this movie a rating of very FRESH!