Hey guys! Horrorella here...
Joshua Oppenheimer's THE ACT OF KILLING was hands down one of last year's greatest, most thought-provoking films. And one of the most important documentaries out there. His focus on the events that transpired in Indonesia over a half-century ago brought to light not only one of the biggest genocides of the modern era, but also brought awareness to the fact that for many of the survivors, this nightmare isn't over. With the paramilitary government still in control, the leaders have never been brought to justice and those left behind have not had the chance to heal from the events that took place in the 1960's.
In THE ACT OF KILLING, Oppenheimer interviewed some of the men who were in charge of killing many innocent people who were suspected of communism and were considered a theat to the government. In his follow-up film, THE LOOK OF SILENCE, he documents an Indonesian man who learns the circumstances surrounding his brother's death during the genocide, as well as the identity of the man who killed him.
Though the film is not due out until sometime next year, Drafthouse films has released the first trailer. It is quiet and contemplative, and yet watching it is already creating a knot in my stomach. THE ACT OF KILLING was unflinching and completely uncompromising in its approach, and made the audience look straight into the eye of the matter. THE LOOK OF SILENCE promises more of the same, and the film is already one of the most highly-anticipated releases of 2015.
Through director Joshua Oppenheimer’s work filming perpetrators of the Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered and the identity of the men who killed him. The youngest brother is determined to break the spell of silence and fear under which the survivors live, and so confronts the men responsible for his brother’s murder – something unimaginable in a country where killers remain in power.
