UK / Poland / USA • Drama, History • Year: 2023 • Running time: 105 mins
Languages: German • Polish • Yiddish
Audience response: 14 slips returned
- ‘Excellent’: 9 votes
- ‘Very Good’: 4 votes
- ‘Good’: 1 vote
- ‘Satisfactory’: 0 votes
- ‘Poor’: 0 vote
Read the comments here or visit the “Zone of Interest” discussion page to join in the conversation.
Synopsys:
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
I don’t think this is the banality of evil. I think it’s the kind of screaming silent horror of indifference or callousness.
Mark Kermode: Kermode and Mayo’s Take
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Under The Skin (2013) • Sexy Beast (2000)
Writers: Jonathan Glazer • Martin Amis
Main Cast:
| Christian Friedel | Rudolf Höss |
| Sandra Hüller | Hedwig Höss |
| Johann Karthaus | Claus Höss |
(for full cast list, additional technical information and reviews, please visit the Zone Of Interest pages in IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes)
Film Notes:
Jonathan Glazer followed up the cultural phenomenon of Under the Skin with this, his most critically acclaimed film to date. The film tells the story of Rudolf Höss and his family living an idyllic life in Poland during World War 2. The only issue is that Höss is the Commandant of Auschwitz and his house is right beside the camp. However, this does not bother his wife, played by German arthouse superstar Sandra Hüller, who spends her days cultivating her garden, keeping her maids in line and rifling through the belongings of those, presumably dead, in the camp next door.
The visuals in this film are stark, but nothing can compare to the sounds that the audience experiences. The air around the camp is peppered with gunshots, screams and the smoke from the chimneys is evident. The term evil is often bandied around too easily but The Zone of Interest really challenges the viewer as we are confronted with the sheer banality of the atrocities going on around the main protagonists and the way in which ordinary life persists, with the camp being a mere inconvenience to the perfect life Hüller is trying to maintain. The mundane scenes of normal domesticity are interspersed with some truly horrific images, most notably when the children go for a boat ride with their father.
The documentary ‘The Commandant’s Shadow’ tells the true story of Höss and will be the next film presentation on Wednesday 12th March, making for a chilling, yet vital double bill.