The Look of Silence

The abysmal aftermath, intergenerational dialogues, between men forced to live with their crimes, and a thoughtful soul inquisitively vilifying them.

According to stats from The Look of Silence, a million communists were killed in Indonesia in 1965 after the military seized control and began executing its potential opposition.

Dark times.

Inimically ideological.

Fascist dogma.

Crippling legacy.

Gruesome testimony.

Many of those responsible for the systematic killings survived into old age, living a relatively comfortable life, still believing in the brutal cause they supported.

A gentle, ah, fellow citizen?, Adi Rukun, whose brother was butchered, interviews a sampling of them while Joshua Oppenheimer films their conversations.

The victims and the voracious, acknowledging they can't come to terms.

Many community members criticize Rukun for examining the issue, not wishing to see the same set of historical circumstances ignite again.

I suppose if you lived through the horror that would be a natural reaction, although ignoring/covering up history with egregiously inaccurate lies does little to compensate its concerned ethical descendants.

Silence.

The silence itself possibly creating the tension it hopes to obscure.

The circumstances likely wouldn't repeat themselves.

And acknowledging the truth, like acknowledging scientific truth, looks less internationally pathetic.

More questions than answers here.

Dangerous questions to ask.

Integral to social justice.