The Look of Silence

2014 1h 40m EN

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 327

HistoryDocumentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An Indonesian man with a communist background named Ramli was brutally murdered when the "Communist" purge occurred in 1965. His remaining family members lived in fear and silence until the making of this documentary. Adi, a brother of his, decided to revisit the horrific incident and visited the men who were responsible for the killings and one survivor of the purge. These meetings uncovered sadistic details of the murders and exposed raw emotions and reactions of the killers' family members about what happened in the past - much to Adi's disappointment.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Cast

Adi Rukun
Self
M.Y. Basrun
Self
Amir Hasan
Self (archive footage)
Inong
Self
Kemat
Self
Joshua Oppenheimer
Self (voice)
Amir Siahaan
Self
Ted Yates
Self (archive footage)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Languages: Indonesian, Javanese, English
Countries: Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Indonesian, Javanese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 6 countries: Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, shot by Lars Skree. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Seri Banang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nils Pagh Andersen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Adi Rukun and M.Y. Basrun and Amir Hasan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3521134 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joshua Oppenheimer directs. Lars Skree behind the camera. Seri Banang scores. Nils Pagh Andersen cuts. Produced in Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Indonesian, Javanese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Indonesian, Javanese, English.
3International production across 6 countries: Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, shot by Lars Skree. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Seri Banang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nils Pagh Andersen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Adi Rukun and M.Y. Basrun and Amir Hasan carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt3521134 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "loss of loved one", "mass murder", "biography", "indonesia".
10Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lars Skree
Original score: Seri Banang
Editing: Nils Pagh Andersen
Sound: Henrik 'Gugge' Garnov
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $332,710
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Look of Silence (2014)

Awards

Jeanne Moreau Prize

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Joshua Oppenheimer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Frank Ochieng2015-10-19
Filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer was instrumental in delivering one of the most harrowing and heart-breaking documentaries in 2013’s The Act of Killing. As an impressive result of the critically acclaimed documentarian’s gut-wrenching narrative, The Act of Killing deservedly earned an Academy Award nomination for its unsettling truth and revelation. Killing concentrated on the frightening accounts involving the 1965 Indonesian genocide of over one million slaughtered people earmarked with “communist” labeling. Well Oppenheimer ‘s The Act of Killing astutely offers a charged follow-up to this tremendous tragic tale with the revealing and devastatingly insightful The Look of Silence. The sentimental cynicism is pretty much as unbelievable and incredulous as previously uncovered in Killing. This time, however, Oppenheimer does not focus on the mass destruction of imperiled human beings whose victimization can be traced to the Indonesian government. Instead, he approaches the subject matter on a more personalized, individual level as he emphasizes one specific casualty—the late Ramli Rukun and his family left to ponder the senseless loss of life and love. The Look of Silence is one of those rare observational sequel -minded documentaries demonstrating a genuine psychological impact despite originally making its familiar mark in the first installment. Anytime the showcasing of jeopardized humanity is profiled it is always an automatic cause to feel enraged and emotionally invested in the outrageous aftermath of the storm. Well Oppenheimer revisits the pain, resentment and frustration in The Look of Silence with convincing empowerment. In The Look of Silence, Oppenheimer explores the regrets and quiet rage in the aftermath of Ramli’s sadistic murder and gives undivided attention to the deceased victim’s ophthalmologist brother Adi. Adi, not born yet when his brother Ramli suffers at the sinister hands of his executioners five decades ago, undergoes a tactical mission to approach his departed sibling’s tormentors through eye exam visitations. If anything, Adi learns of the pride his brother’s butchers took in claiming his life. More shocking is the fact that these now old-time killers are revered as heroes and have the audacity to live among the common folks whom they probably would have eradicated in their heyday back in the mid 60’s. Naturally, silence is golden and in spite of the unshakable atrocities perpetrated on the million people that were sacrificed in the name of sanctioned governmental scrutiny it was expected that survivors and other citizens hold their tongues and simply go with the flow. This is why Adi’s unassuming confrontation of Ramli’s killers feels so radical because he dared to face the menacing messengers of evil through the guise of eyesight testing. For Adi to demand the truth and literally and figuratively see through the ruthless eyes of icy murderers that wear their deadly shame with honor is indeed quite unimaginable and challenging. In questioning the matured monsters’ motivation for silencing the countless sufferers they actually treasured in partaking in the nostalgic nihilism, Adi unravels the murderous mystery while witnessing the twisted joy of reminiscences that these pathetic patients of his puts forth. The question remains: did Adi really accomplish anything in his quest to unearth the horrific stories behind his brother’s demise and that of other unfortunate souls lost in such national man-made destruction? Sadly, there seems to be no remorse or recourse for retaliation concerning the broken hearts of those that perished in such hopelessness. Oppenheimer does his share of showing some inquisitive fortitude as well. For instance, his interaction with Ramli’s severely aging parents tells of the everlasting bitterness and disgust they still maintain for a country that has turned a blind eye to the historical horror show for which their beloved son paid a hefty price. It does not help the cause that they live in the shadows of such criminal proportions that their unapologetic nation refused to repudiate with political sorrow. Also, Oppenheimer manages to confront Ramli’s actual killers and curiously they revel in glee as they recall fondly the termination of an individual that meant nothing more to them then a routine contracted killing--an eye on the prize if you will. Absorbingly compelling and contemplative, The Look of Silence proves one thing that the act of repentance is not on any given eye chart of those powerfully ominous societal misfits vehemently refusing to visualize the ugliness of inhumanity even through a redemptive set of fresh new lenses. THE LOOK OF SILENCE (2015) Drafthouse Films Written and Directed by: Joshua Oppenheimer 1 hr. 43 mins. MPAA Rating: PG-13 Genre: Documentary Critic’s Rating: * ½ stars (out of 4 stars) --Frank Ochieng
CinemaSerf2026-09-15
★ 7/10
Indonesia in the mid-1960s was a dangerous place to live. With the government overthrown by the military, much of the country was left in the hands of butchers who used a fear of Communism to excuse atrocities that reputedly saw one million people slaughtered. One of those killed was Ramli and now his brother, an optician called Adi, has set about trying to help the aged with their sight problems whilst getting to the people who were responsible for this genocide but that remain largely unaccused and certainly unpunished. There is something penetratingly unassuming about this man - who does look much younger than his 44 years - as he mixes his professional responsibilities with his quizzing, and perhaps it's that boyishness that helps him get some remarkably frank responses from the commanders and politicians who were responsible for the killings at the infamous Snake River and from those still in - and even running - the local legislature whose approach to these crimes reminded me of that line attributed to Imelda Marcos about truth being an entirely subjective commodity. What adds poignancy to this is the fact that most of these perpetrators are well past the point where retribution would be possible. Their senses have long deserted them and in many cases it is their children or wives who are learning first hand of the brutality of their fathers/husbands - one even wrote a book as if it were a trophy to commemorate his "courage" in killing countless unarmed people whose face - or political opinions - didn't fit. The army was complicit too, but not in the way we might expect. They didn't want the world to see soldiers bearing down upon unarmed civilians, so they let the thugs with their machetes carry on unmolested. All the while, we watch his own elderly mother wash and care for his emaciated looking father (who still thinks he is 16) which exerts a certain calmess to this film. It's not about his search for revenge, indeed it isn't really about any naive hope of obtaining justice - it's more about him finding closure for his brother and others like him, and at times he shows an astonishing willingness to forgive. In the spirit more of Nelson Mandela's truth and reconciliation concept, this is much more about acknowledging the history and learning from it and I felt the humanity, patience and tolerance with which Adi looked some of these liars, deniers and criminals in the eyes and then hugged them afterwards spoke volumes for his courage and his hope that such criminality could never happen again.

Production companies