Common Sense Media Review
By Alistair Lawrence
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Indonesian genocide docu sequel has graphic descriptions.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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The Look of Silence
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
THE LOOK OF SILENCE is a documentary sequel about Indonesia's mass killings of 1965-66, which took place as part of a military coup. The documentary follows the brother of one of those murdered and explores the mass killings' impact on both his family and modern-day Indonesian society.
Is It Any Good?
The Look of Silence is the second documentary from Joshua Oppenheimer about Indonesia's mass killings during the 1960s and leaves an even more lasting impression than his first film. It might lack the spectacle of its predecessor, The Act of Killing, but it does take a more balanced approach to investigating the impact of an atrocious military coup that has left its scars on Indonesian society. At the center of the movie is Adi Rukun, whose quiet dignity powers its most memorable scenes. Ageing mass murderers from his region tell him stories about the killings in which they either took part or oversaw, which include the murder of Rukun's brother.
As before, Oppenheimer lets the camera linger on the participants' reactions, a technique he overuses to the point where it is often tedious rather than compelling. But unlike in The Act of Killing, here we see a range of emotional responses play out, from agitation to denial, anger, and grief. The Look of Silence also includes more detail about the West's complicity in the killings. News footage of an American journalist casually accepting a state propagandist's version of events feels almost surreal. As before, things are left open-ended and with no easy resolutions in sight, but then maybe that's the point.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence discussed in The Look of Silence. Did it feel any less shocking that it was talked about rather than shown? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
Were you surprised by how little remorse was shown by those responsible for the killings? What do you think Adi Rukun got from meeting his brother's killers? What were his motivations?
How might the mass killings have been reported on TV and online today? What role would social media play?
What do you think the documentary is trying to do? How did it compare with the first one? What other documentaries have you seen and what impact did they have on you?
Movie Details
- In theaters: July 17, 2015
- On DVD or streaming: March 4, 2016
- Cast: Adi Rukun , M.Y. Basrun , Amir Hasan
- Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
- Studio: Drafthouse Films
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: History
- Run time: 103 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG-13
- MPAA explanation: thematic material involving disturbing graphic descriptions of atrocities and inhumanity
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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