9.1
Jamie Rutherford

A follow-up/companion piece to the award-winning The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence is another compelling documentary from Director Joshua Oppenheimer. Both films aim attention at the Indonesian Genocide of 1965-66, when the military government systematically purged up to one million communists. While the first film’s focus was on the culprits and on providing facts, the second one lets us meet the victims. One victim in particular: a soft-spoken optician named Adi Rukun, who meets with various members of the death squad who murdered his elder brother Ramli, under the guise of giving them an eye test. As he questions them about the killings, the murderers, again, show little remorse and eagerly provide the lurid details to the many executions. It’s a stunning and provocative look at the legacy of historical mass killings, along with the insidious propaganda that provokes them, and continues to justify them to younger generations. A testament to the power of cinema to remember the forgotten.

1. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
AMAZON

Device availability:
 Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Changhong, Chromecast, Haier, Hisense, iOS, LG, Nvidia SHIELD, Panasonic, Philips, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung, Sharp, Skyworth, Sony, TiVo, Vestel, Vizio, Wii, Xbox

You can buy nearly everything on Amazon, including movies and TV shows. Amazon’s video storefront (not to be confused with its on-demand streaming service Amazon Prime) allows you to either rent or buy thousands of titles, including new releases, blockbuster hits, niche indies, and international gems. 

You’ll have to sign in using your Amazon account to start renting or purchasing, and Amazon allows you to redeem gift cards, promo codes, and points if you have them upon checkout. Like most video stores, Amazon gives you 30 days to start watching a rental and 48 hours to finish it, while unlimited access is granted to purchased titles. Lastly, you should know that a rented title is only viewable on one device, so sharing options will be limited. 

2. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
ALAMO ON DEMAND

Device availability:
 Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Website

Founded by the Texas-based cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse, Alamo on Demand is a streaming service that lets you rent or purchase a good mix of mainstream and obscure films. Here, you’ll find blockbusters and indies, new releases and cult classics, grindhouse as well as arthouse. In Alamo’s own words, it’s the “Staff Picks section of a video store,” a curated set of films carefully handpicked by the people behind it. And this is apparent in how the streaming service is organized. You can sort the movies by directors, genres, and categories like “Weird Wednesday” and “Ozploitation.” If you feel like exploring even more, they have movie playlists made in collaboration with filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Edgar Wright, which follow different themes and moods. As of this writing, the platform doesn’t recognize credits and passes you may have collected with your Alamo Drafthouse membership, but it’s working on it. In the meantime, film lovers and patrons will find much to like in Alamo’s on-demand counterpart. 

3. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
FANDOR

Price:
 $5.99 per month
Free Trial:
 14 days
Device availability:
 Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku

Fandor is a paid subscription streaming service that curates independent, foreign, award-winning, and classic films, as well as documentaries from all over the world, making it a standout option for cinephiles. Depending on your location, it also offers a number of free movie titles. But Fandor doesn’t only cater to fans; rookie directors also get some love as the service allows them to debut their work on the platform. It’s a great option for film lovers and makers alike.

4. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
HOOPLA

Device availability:
 Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Website

Hoopla is a digital library that partners with public libraries across the US to grant their patrons free access to the wealth of media they have online and on the go. This includes movies and television shows, but Hoopla also has a vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, and albums it offers members. You can check their website to see if your library card is valid, and if it is, you can continue on to registration (with no extra fees) and start viewing their available titles. Hoopla rotates its selection every week or so, but generally, it has a good mix of old films, cult classics, past hits, and foreign movies. Occasionally, it will also have the latest blockbusters. For television, it’s recently partnered with the BBC and a couple of manga publishers to deliver content from around the world. 

5. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
ITUNES

Device availability:
 Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Windows 11

iTunes is one of the oldest media apps currently in use. While many people know it as a music player, iTunes has since evolved to offer digital movies and TV shows for rent or sale. The bigger and newer releases can cost up to $20 to purchase, but iTunes also has past hits, modern classics, award-winning pictures, and even local films you can rent for as low as $2. Purchased films and TV shows are available for as long as the studio allows them to be, but rentals are a different story. Once you’ve rented a particular title, you have up to 30 days to start watching it. And after you start watching it, you’ll then have 48 hours before it expires. iTunes comes pre-installed on Apple devices, but it’s also available on Windows PCs and Android Smart TVs.

6. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
MICROSOFT

Device availability:
 Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox

Microsoft is most known for its computer and gaming services, but the tech corporation also has a streaming service under its belt. Microsoft’s media store allows you to rent or purchase a host of films and TV shows, many of which are still up in theaters or being broadcast on network TV. The good news is that Microsoft often puts up sales and specials that slash prices up to half, and the even better news is that Xbox Game Pass holders are entitled to many of these discounts. So for instance, a Game Pass holder can pay just $7 for a film that costs $20 to rent. Now, the not-so-good news is that Microsoft’s rental store is only available for Xbox and PCs and mobile devices that run on Windows. Anything outside of these devices, unfortunately, won’t be able to access the store. 

7. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
PLEX

Device availability:
 Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google Daydream, iOS, LG Smart TV, Nvidia SHIELD, Oculus, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Website, Xbox

Plex is a media management software that doubles as a free streaming service. Its main function is to organize your own library of content—that is, your own video, photo, or sound files—and make it streamable alongside Plex’s offerings of 200+ live TV channels and 50,000+ on-demand movies and shows. Plex’s basic package comes at no cost, but it also has a premium package starting at $4.99/month that boasts additional features, such as the ability to download content and watch them offline, among other things.

8. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
REDBOX

Device availability:
 Android, Android TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG, LG Smart TV, LG TV, Roku, Samsung, Vizio, Vizio TV, Xbox

No longer just a physical DVD kiosk, Redbox has expanded to become an online space where you can rent and purchase films and TV shows as well as watch live channels for free. Like Vudu and Amazon Prime, Redbox gives you access to a plethora of movies, including fan favorites and indie gems (these can cost anywhere from $2 to $5) and movies currently screening in cinemas (these usually cost more, around $20). Redbox also has a live TV streaming feature that you can access even without a registered account. Although most of the channels are not that notable, they cover the essential categories: news, sports, and entertainment.

9. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
TOPIC

Price:
 $5.99 per month
Free Trial:
 7 days
Device availability:
 Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, iOS, Roku

Topic is an online streaming service operating in the US and Canada. 

In the US, a monthly subscription currently runs at $5.99 per month or $56.99 per year.

Topic can be accessed via Apple iOS, and AppleTV, Android, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku, in addition to Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, Roku Premium Channels, and Bell Fibe.

10. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
TUBITV

11. You can watch
The Look of Silence (2015)
on
PLUTOTV

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

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