Documentary Director Joshua Oppenheimer has done a sequel to his path breaking film Act of Killing, which I wrote about in an earlier post. Both films are about the 1960s genocide in Indonesia when a million Indonesians were killed, accused of being communists. This genocide is by all accounts not openly acknowledged in Indonesia and many of the perpetrators are in positions of power at all levels of politics.

Act of Killing was controversial for its approach – reenactments of actual killings by the people who had done them. (One of the producers is Errol Morris, who uses this technique often, notably in The Thin Blue Line, which re-enacted a murder and led to the re-opening of the case. The verdict against the accused was overturned and he was set free.)

The Look of Silence is an impressive follow-up to Act of Killing, this time from the lens of a victim – an Indonesian, Adi, whose brother was killed by the death squads. Adi, who lives in the same community as his brother’s killers, confronts them and their families – those who did it and on up the layers of those who gave the commands. He looks for remorse so he can forgive but what he mostly sees instead is perpetrators boasting, believing they are heroes who saved their country. The victors have written history. Meanwhile victim’s families are mostly too scared to speak up. This is a very powerful movie about the psychological aftermath of genocide or inter-ethnic violence. Indonesia like many countries has bottled it all up, and this film shows the cost.

Oppenheimer apparently spent 10 years of his life living in Indonesia making these movies. He now feels his life would be at risk if he returns there. Adi, meantime, has had to relocate to another part of Indonesia, for safety. The film opens in Indonesia in November.

Here's an interesting interview with Oppenheimer at the Toronto Film Festival about making the two movies: