THE LOOK OF SILENCE (2014) — Sleeper Awakened

2/4/2016 - The Look of Silence (2014) – 9-/10

Hard to talk about this film without comparing it to its predecessor (Act of Killing), but I think this is perhaps better than the first. Well, at least effecting in a completely different way.

There is a sense of inhumanity and detachment in Act, that is recycled but more-so, re-examined in Look. The placement of a human perspective (an actual victim to play these horrendous atrocities off of) elevated both the drama and story as a whole. Sure, it may not have had the shocking presence and atypical machinations of its amazing forebear, but this documentary had a bloodstained soul and intriguing private dramas that instilled a "who and when" to depths of the horror.

More than a simple companion piece, Look recycles the pain and history to focus its lamentable light through a distinctive and effectual prism. You “feel” the human cost of these heinous deeds on a more personal level, as opposed to a still intense but more “removed” and “abstract” exploration of the killers in Act.