The Zone Of Interest: Jonathan Glazer's Movie Scarred Me For Life (And That's A Good Thing)
Summary
- The Zone of Interest delves into the banality of evil, showcasing the daily lives of Auschwitz’s commandant and his wife.
- The haunting sound design of the film immerses viewers in the horrors of the Holocaust without graphic violence on screen.
- Unlike traditional Holocaust movies, The Zone of Interest focuses on the inhumanity of the perpetrators in their everyday lives.
The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer, is a movie that has stayed with me long after the haunting score and sounds of a man vomiting give way to the eerily clinical noises of modern-day custodians vacuuming the halls of Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Movies like the Zone of Interest don’t come around too often. My recollection of The Zone of Interest was that it almost felt like an underground movie. Podcasters and writers would speak about it in hushed tones of either reverence or disgust.
The inability of anyone to explain exactly why the movie had made such a visceral impression only made me want to see it more. For those out of the loop, it’s a Holocaust movie. The Zone of Interest depicts the true (ish) story of Rudolf (Christian Friedel) and Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) Höss, the commandant and his wife of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Despite never showing the body of a Jewish victim or any real instances of violence, The Zone of Interest shook me as much as any film has.
Related
What Happened To The Real Rudolf Höss After The Zone Of Interest
As shown in The Zone of Interest, Rudolf Höss was the notorious commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp. But the movie is ambiguous about his fate.
The Zone Of Interest’s Sound Editing Haunts My Dreams
The Constant Din From The Camp Won’t Leave You After The Film Ends
The Zone of Interest does not show the atrocities of the Holocaust in stark relief. Instead, the camp is hidden by the gorgeous white walls of the Höss family’s mansion. Only the tops of the large camp buildings are visible, belching continuous streams of gray smoke, the residue of horrible crimes occurring just beyond the garden where Hedwig proudly shows off her flowers. I watched this film on a holiday weekend and about twenty minutes in, someone walked in to watch.
They had not heard much about the film and while it played, it was clear they weren’t entirely sure what they were watching. There is an anxious sense of waiting inherent in The Zone of Interest — you keep thinking something explosive will happen, but it never does. I told them that it was a Holocaust movie. “Oh,” they said, still confused. That’s Auschwitz, I pointed out. “Behind the wall?” they exclaimed. Both of us went silent then. That’s when the sound design hit them, as it had been hitting me since I turned it on.
Hammering metal, dogs barking, men shouting, women shrieking, and guns firing create a non-stop hum that is as much a part of the movie as the color grading.
At nearly every moment of the movie, the sounds from the camp can be heard in the background, as if a white noise machine from hell was left on. Hammering metal, dogs barking, men shouting, women shrieking, and guns firing create a non-stop hum that is as much a part of the movie as the color grading. The Zone of Interest was nominated for the Oscar for Best Sound, and Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn rightfully won for the harrowing sounds I could feel in my teeth and gut.
The Zone of Interest
also won Best International Feature Film and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture at the 96th Academy Awards.
Unlike Other Holocaust Movies, The Zone Of Interest Showed Evil In Everyday Life
The Zone Of Interest Points Out The Depths Of Apathy Of Those Perpetrating The Holocaust
Holocaust movies are depressing and grim affairs. They have to be if a film has any interest in accurately depicting the horror of that world-defining event. The Zone of Interest takes a different tack than a film like Schindler’s List, which depicts the crime from the point of view of a sympathetic German, or Sophie’s Choice, which follows one desperate woman’s experience.
The Zone of Interest examines the banality of evil. The Höss family hosts parties, tends their garden, plays in the pool, and is more concerned about Hedwig’s comfort in her home and Rudolf’s march up the corporate ladder. By only depicting the horrors of the Holocaust as on the periphery, The Zone of Interest reveals the cruelty and inhuman element of the perpetrators. It’s upsetting and makes me uneasy to even consider people so “typical” at face value to be capable of such brutality.
The Zone of Interest
The Zone of Interest is a historical war drama by writer-director Jonathan Glazer. Set during World War 2, the film follows Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, as he tries to build a dream home right next door to the camp.
- Director
- Jonathan Glazer
- Release Date
- December 15, 2023
- Cast
- Christian Friedel , Sandra Hüller , Ralph Herforth , Luis Noah Witte , Johann Karthaus
- Runtime
- 105 Minutes
