Historical tragedies have their own visual references—footage of violence, photographs of victims—that have been pored over, forgotten, and subsequently rediscovered. Of course, images lose their potency with time, and become faded as witnesses die and disappear. Remembering the story behind the photograph becomes tantamount, since reducing history to a collection of snapshots risks a tragic loss of nuance, depth, and truth.
The Apology, a documentary by director Tiffany Hsiung, takes an unconventional approach to horror, privileging complex personal histories over arresting images and challenging our collective urge to reduce history to a litany of horrific crimes and unknowable victims. Through Hsiung’s work, we are all but ordered to grapple with something far messier and less contained than an image or a timeline. Instead, we are thrown into the after: lives that did not end when forced to endure unimaginable pain.