The Look Of Silence Film Analysis

As tensions grow within the south-east asian country of Indonesia, the ugly wound the country had hidden for decades has once again been thrusted into the light. As tensions and fear begin to grow amongst the citizens, fear of the anti-communist killings of the 60s repeating themselves have become more commonplace and as such it is our human duty to learn from the mistakes of the past and prevent them from happening again.
This was a task undertaken by Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing and completed through The Look of Silence, stating in an interview with The Guardian’s Sean O’Hagan, the main task of his previous film The Act of Killing was to expose the fantasies and escapisms the perpetrators used to live with themselves, as well …show more content…
However it is important to note that The Look of Silence does take an accusatory stance on the issue that was not there in the first one. Disclaimer aside the film itself is a breathtaking, haunting piece that manages to linger in the audience's mind long after the film ends, effectively reversing the perspective from the original film, using the age old adage of two sides of the same coin. Through The Act of Killing, you have the focus on the killers lives and the delusion that they carry of their killings being justified in order to cope with their actions. This is contrasted through The Look of Silence which focuses on the effect these killings had not only on the families affected but also the influence these killers had on the local communities even after all these years. The Look of Silence follows the story of Adi, a middle aged indonesian man, which wants to know more Oppenheimer elaborating ““You have to understand that Adi is an exceptional individual in his empathy, his patience and his desire to understand,” says Oppenheimer. “He is not seeking revenge on those he confronts, rather an acknowledgment from them of the terrible cost of their crimes and how the fear they instilled still lingers. What …show more content…
It depicts Adi’s family- His aged father struggling to remember his lost son Ramli; His mother which does remember, still grieving the loss almost a half century after the events and his own family which worry about Adi’s safety. Throughout the movie there have occasionally been images of dancing insect pods full of chrysalides wriggling away. This is realised in the end as being a motif of new beginnings as Adi’s mother holds one of the pods in her hands as she says “I can’t see you. Are you there? Come out.” Although in context Adi and his family now reside in a ‘safe’ area in order to avoid the dangers that come with a film of this magnitude, thematically this is the start of a new beginning regardless of what was committed in the past. The film isn’t about revenge or anger it is about