THE LOOK OF SILENCE by Joshua Oppenheimer

 

 

 

It’s horrifying, it hurts to watch the scenes that shows these brutal perpetrators re-enact their killings committed around 1965 in Indonesia, where the slaughtering of communists were performed by a military regime and its gangs that had come into power. One million were killed. The Americans (and the rest of the world?, at least we did not hear about it, or did we?) made no objections as an American NBC news clip shows in this second Descent to Hell, Indonesia 1965 and today, the first being ”The Act of Killing”. This time seen from the point of view of an opthalmologist, Adi, a man in his forties with wife and two children, a mother and a father – and a brother, Ramli, who was killed back then.

The overall theme of the film is the same, yet ”The Look of Silence” is completely different from ”The Act of Killing”, that framed the story of the perpetrators horror by having them make their film about the act of killing. Surrealistic scenes came out of that, to say the least. Whereas ”The Look of Silence” brings Adi to the centre to make him meet old men in the neighbourhood, men who took part in the atrocities. He comes to check their sight and starts to ask about the past. He gets to know more and more and ends up discovering the involvement of his own family – an uncle was a guard in the prison that Ramli was taken to before he was – that is the word

being used – hacked into pieces! Adi gets to know all the details about how his brother was murdered.

The slow rythm is different to ”The Act of Killing”. You are taken to a place, where the cikades are singing, a soothing sound to beautiful images (cameraman Lars Skree) surrounds the horrors that Adi quietly watches on a tv set, filmed by Joshua Oppenheimer a decade before. In this material the killers enthusiastically demonstrate how they dragged the victims to the Snake River to throw them into the water after their deed. In a unique scene Adi walks with Kemat to the Snake River, no words from their mouths but a touching voice-off text from the survivor.

Adi keeps a straight face until he meets an old killer and his daughter. The old man talks about drinking the blood of the victims, ”so you don’t get crazy”, another says the blood is ”sweet and salty”, he is senile, says the daughter, please forgive him, she has never heard about his past before, she is shocked and touched, they hug each other before Adi leaves.

Adi as a film character is gold. You are with him from the very beginning, you watch the warm scenes with his old mother – ”you are the answer to my prayers” – he was born two years after Ramli was killed – you see his lively children and his wife, who is more than worried that he has taken upon him the role of finding out what happened in 1965. It can not have been an easy decision for him to agree to take part in a film about killers, who are still alive in a country where they are considered heroes – and where the school kids, including Adi’s son, are taught that what happened was fair and right!

Any objections? No, ”The Act of Killing” and ”The Look of Silence” will stay as monumental works in the history of documentary films both in terms of the content information that is brought to us and in the cinematic way that this is conveyed. The mere fact that Oppenheimer and his many anonymous helpers have been able to make these two films deserves deep respect.

An additional remark re: ”The Look of Silence” – Oppenheimer and his editor Niels Pagh Andersen have now reached a kind of perfection in storytelling… Step by step information is given, the family is introduced and included, no stone is left unturned, the perpetrators and their families, step by step Adi knows more, step by step he gets closer to the cruel facts about his brother, the atmosphere becomes more and more intense, emotional impact on Adi and the viewer is growing, and we know that he has to show his despair explicitly… Can a film be too perfect?

Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, Finland & UK, 2014, 98 mins.

The film is shown at cph:dox in Copenhagen.

www.thelookofsilence.com

http://cphdox.dk

 

Scenes to remember… one of the many good things about being at a festival is the conversations you have with colleagues in the breaks. Conversations that very often bring up scenes that have impressed you, scenes that will stay in your mind.

Example: You might not remember the title of the film but you will remember the scene with the man at Maidan Kiev, who silently puts his body over the broken statue of Lenin, protecting the head of the father of the 1917 revolution and what he stood for in Soviet times. He does not want to move or be moved. The youngsters around him either shout invective words to him, ”go home, your time is over”, trying violently to get him away, while others express ”leave him alone”. The scene is from the Ukrainian ”All Things Ablaze”, a shocking documentary descent to Hell, alarming to watch. ”Let me have a piece of Lenin”, many scream with a hammer in hand, they are photographed next to the Head or with one leg on the same statue Head – the old man is brutally taken away by hooligans, he no longer has his hat, we see him on the ground, one shouts ”help him he got a heart attack”, the music is dramatizing, it’s very strong and all sympathy lies with the man, who is being humiliated.

That was one way of looking at Maidan, Sergei Loznitsa had quiet a different one with his ”Maidan”. He is distantly observing and not involved (not meaning that he does not have a point of view, indeed he has), he makes the viewer observe and have the eyes go around his images that are like paintings, as the jury stated in their motivation for giving an honorary award to the film. Several long shots included the singing of the Ukrainian anthem, where you let your eyes wander within the frame, as was it a work by Brueghel! Unique moments they are.

Or the start of Ulrich Seidl’s ”Im Keller” (”In the Basement”) where a snake slooowly moves towards the mouse for attack, you know what is to happen, and yet you are jumping in your seat when it happens, as you are shaking your head when the nice Austrian Bürger enters his basement rooms full of Hitler and Nazi trophies. Not to forget the chained naked man, who licks the toilet clean on demand from ”die Herrerin”. One scene after each other, tableau-like, a pity they do not become a whole.

www.dok-leipzig.de

Here follows the jury motivations for the main competition winners and for the German competition winner, Domino Effect, a film that has been reviewed on filmkommentaren.dk

Golden Dove: Claudine Bories und Patrice Chagnard (Frankreich) for the film Les règles du jeu (Rules of the Game) Jury Statement: Adapting to society and the strange demands of the marketplace is the theme of this subtle, poetic documentary comedy about a group of young Frenchmen, who cannot hide their contempt for THE RULES OF THE GAME.

Honorary Mention: Alexander Nanau (Romania) for the film Toto şi surorile lui (Toto and His Sisters) Jury Statement: In spite of the total deroute of their impoverished, drug ridden family Toto and a sister fight to create a decent future for themselves. A straight forward, non-sentimental story about having to leave your family to survive.

Honorary Mention: Sergei Loznitsa (Netherlands, Ukraine) for the film Maidan (PHOTO) Jury Statement: An iconographic piece of filmmaking about a society in despair framed and timed masterly. A cinematic depiction of a troubled moment in history that reads like a grand painting.

German Competition Winner: Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski (Germany, Poland) for the film Domino Effekt (Domino Effect Jury Statement:The East European Riviera at the Black Sea, a former war area, wistfulness and decay. The filmmakers get to know an Abkhazian-Russian pair who fiercely argues about their love. Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski tell the story of this absolutely impossible love with great warmth and a visual feeling for tragicomical, surreal scenes. And, at the same time, about the absurdity of an absolutely impossible society on the edge of Europe.

http://www.dok-leipzig.de/home/?lang=en

The winners have been found. And apart from “my” main prize the juries agreed with me, awarding “Les Regles du Jeu” and “Toto and his Sisters”. Here is the press release and notice that you can find the motivations on the site of the festival:

DOK Leipzig awarded the prestigious Golden Doves on Saturday night. 17 prizes worth a total of 66,500 Euros were presented at the 57th edition of the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Films. This makes DOK Leipzig the most highly endowed documentary film festival in Germany. The biggest German documentary film festival has been screening 368 films during the festival week which ends tomorrow.

The Golden Dove in the International Competition Documentary Film was awarded to “Les règles du jeu” (“Rules of the Game”) by French directors Claudine Bories and Patrice Chagnard. The Prize is endowed with 10,000 Euros, donated by the MITTELDEUTSCHER RUNDFUNK, and was presented by the MDR’s artistic director, Prof. Dr. Karola Wille.

The Golden Dove for the best Animated Film, endowed with 5,000 Euros, was awarded to the Swedish entry “Still Born” by Åsa Sandzén. The Silver Dove in the International Competition Animated Film, endowed with 2,000 Euros, went to Daisy Jacobs from the United Kingdom for her film “The Bigger Picture”.

The Golden Dove in the German Competition Documentary Film, endowed with 10,000 Euros, was awarded to “Domino Effect” by two Polish directors living in Germany, Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski.

The Talent Dove of the Media Foundation of the Sparkasse Leipzig, the main prize in the Young Cinema Competition, went to Hamza Ouni for “El Gort”, a Tunisian-United Arab Emirates co-production. The prize money of 10,000 Euros is intended as startup funding for the Tunisian director’s next documentary film project.

In the International Short Documentary Competition, the Dutch entry “Escort” was awarded a Golden Dove. Director Guido Hendrikx receives prize money to the amount of 3,000 Euros, donated by TELEPOOL GmbH.

The Golden Dove for the Best Animated Documentary was awarded to Roberto Collío for the Chilean production “Muerta blanca” (“White Death”). This prize for a hybrid of animated and documentary film, which is unique in the world, is endowed with 3,000 Euros.

The Healthy Workplaces Film Award, endowed with 5,000 Euros donated by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), was awarded to French director Paul Lacoste for his film “Vendanges”

(“Harvest”). The MDR Film Prize for an outstandingEast European documentary, endowed with 3,000 Euros, went to Ukrainian filmmakers Oleksandr Techynskyi, Aleksey Solodunov and Dmitry Stoykov for their film “All Things Ablaze”. The DEFA Sponsoring Prize for an outstanding German documentary, along with a grant to the amount of 4,000 Euros, was awarded to Thomas Heise for his film “Staedtebewohner”.

The Documentary Film Prize of the Goethe Institute, endowed with 2,000 Euros, went to Maurizius Staerkle-Drux for his film “Die Böhms – Architektur einer Familie” (“Concrete Love”, Germany, Switzerland).

The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, endowed with 2,000 Euros donated by the VCH-Hotels Deutschland GmbH – im Verband Christlicher Hoteliers e.V., including the MICHAELIS Hotel in Leipzig, went to Romanian director Alexander Nanau for “Toto şi surorile lui” (“Toto and His Sisters”).

The FIPRESCI Jury awarded its prize to “Spartacus & Cassandra” by Ioanis Nuguet (France). Romanian director Alexander Nanau received the Prize of the Trade Union ver.di, endowed with 2,500 Euros, for “Toto şi surorile lui” (“Toto and His Sisters”). The Prize of the Youth Jury of the Leipzig Film School went to Tehran-born director Ayat Najafi for his film “No Land’s Song” (Germany, France). The mephisto 97.6 Audience Award was determined by audience vote and went to Norwegian-born Academy Award® winner Torill Kove for her animated film “Moulton og meg” (“Me and My Moulton”).

The “Leipziger Ring” Film Prize of the Peaceful Revolution Foundation, endowed with 5,000 Euros, was awarded on Wednesday night at the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church) in Leipzig. It went to US American filmmaker Laura Poitras for her film “CITIZENFOUR”:

Please find a detailed list of all award winners including all Special Mentions and jury statements attached at http://www.dok-leipzig.de/festival/preistraeger-2014 from 11 p.m.

http://www.dok-leipzig.de/home/?lang=en

Your filmkommentaren.dk correspondent has seen the 12 long documentaries in the Dok International Competition 2014. He thinks it would be fun to make HIS list of winners for that category. I.e. a main prize and two honorary mentions. The films have been seen at the Dok Market during the last week, and it has to be said that the general level of quality for the 11 is high and that I appreciate the diversity in themes and storytelling.

Best film

”Suddenly My Thoughts Halt” (Portugal) (by Jorge Pelicano) (2014), 100 mins.

For its cinematically conveyed love to its characters at the hospital in Porto and the humorous and original storytelling approach with an actor, who moves in and tries to understand and to interpret insanity, helped by intelligent patients with wise words and authenticity.

Honorary Mention

”Rules of the Game” (France) (by Claudine Bories & Patrice Chagnard) (2014), 106 mins.

This well made, excellently photographed and edited human documentary catches, what it means to be young and unemployed, and to be involved in a training programme, where you are taught to write applications and ”sell” yourself at job interviews. It’s light in tone, it’s universal, the youngsters keep their own personality in this apparent no-go situation.

Honorary Mention

”Toto and His Sisters” (Romania) (by Alexander Nanau) (2014) 93 mins.

Heartbreaking. Mum is in jail, one sister is on drugs, the other fights for herself and for Toto in this film about a lost childhood, misery and poverty. With a society that tries to get the small boy away. Yes, away but to what? Toto is good at hip hop, that takes him away… A film with a strong sensibility for character and narrative.

http://www.dok-leipzig.de