POV: The Silence of Others

While at first blush, the sentiment to put nastiness behind oneself, forget, and move on may sound laudable, Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar’s The Silence of Others looks at the deeper costs and scars when an entire nation is legally required to forget. The forgetting in question is of the torture and other human rights abuses committed during Francisco Franco’s four decades-long dictatorial reign of Spain, crimes that a 1977 amnesty law made impossible to prosecute in the country. Profiling a small handful of these victims and their descendants, and exploring the depths of their trauma with considerable care, The Silence of Others follows a case filed in Argentina under the principles of universal jurisdiction for human rights violations. More broadly, though, it serves as a cautionary tale of fascism and of its enduring wounds and enduring presence. This important film also explores what it means to remember, and acts as a vital document of remembrance for those who knew of Franco’s regime and for those who didn’t alike. For being a superb reflection upon what it truly means to forget, The Silence of Others wins a Peabody.