The Zone of Interest

INT. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - NIGHT Auschwitz is the location of the world's most unforgivable crime — where humanity lost itself. An area forever marked with the horrors of xenophobia and a story that filmmakers continuously attempt to display on the screen. While holocaust cinema isn't being worked into the ground like other genres, there hasn't been a breath of fresh air for a while.  The Zone of Interest is that breath. From the get-go, you're engulfed back into Auschwitz, except in this film, there is a gorgeous house bordering the concentration camp. Immediately this large grey wall hiding the atrocities is juxtaposed with the family's beautiful garden, which their mother wishes to continue improving, never mind the continuous screaming and low rumbling furnace in the area. What Johnathan Glazer does with the sound design of this film is incredible; through audio alone, you're left with a sense of dread; how could you sleep when all you can hear are screams? The film opens with a black screen and an audio scape, immediately setting the tone.  The Zone of Interest layers many elements to create a narrative worth seeing. A narrative we know but in a brand new presentation.  FADE OUT.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/the-zone-of-interest-bfi-london-film-festival-review-one-of-the-most-important-films-of-our-time/ "The Zone of Interest is one of the most memorable, remarkable films of the last few years. Jonathan Glazer achieves a fascinating dissociation between the general tone of the movie and the mundane actions of the protagonist family, portraying the unbelievably shocking global apathy in the face of the greatest crime in human history. An extremely complicated viewing, excruciatingly frustrating, full of negative emotions, and not very accessible to the general public. The atmospheric, static cinematography, together with the powerful score and especially the background sounds that will haunt any viewer, justify the use of the term "masterpiece" to technically describe the film. But more important than discussing technicalities and the explored themes, or rating a movie like this, is learning from the mistakes of the past that sadly insist on persevering..." Rating: ?

Christian Friedel is quite effective in his portrayal of the Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss here. He and wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) offer us one of the most stark contradictions I think I've ever seen on screen. The beautifully manicured garden of a delightful family home with an unique next door neighbour. That would be the Auschwitz concentration camp of which he was in control. We follow his selection to run the place, his increasing role in implementing the extermination processes and then gradually, as he is promoted again, their realisation that the idyllic life they want for themselves is doomed. It's the brutal comparisons that work best here. We don't really see anything graphic on screen, that's all left to our already well enough developed imagination. The blissful ignorance of their children, the ample supply of food and the prevailing attitudes that nothing at all is amiss compares frighteningly with the real life ghastliness of those just a few feet across a large concrete wall. I suppose it could have more meat on it's bones - maybe just a little too much is left to our own interpretation and it can be a little slow at times, but it still delivers well as a template for just how many people thought the mass killings was hardly more important than whether or not they'd run out of eggs. It's not an history lesson - there are corners cut and licence is certainly taken with some of the timelines, but it's still a poignant look at human behaviour that's well worth a watch.