Jmunney's Blog

CREDIT: A24

Starring: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Discussions About the Holocaust

Release Date: December 15, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: The Zone of Interest might be the most banal movie ever made about the Holocaust. I don’t mean that as a criticism, but rather as objectively as possible. It revolves around the day-to-day goings-on of real-life German SS officer Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) during the reign of Hitler. Most of the film takes place at their home and garden while they take care of chores and their kids run around without a care in the world. Then the last third or so revolves around government meetings in which Rudolf helps implement plans to round up Hungarian Jews into concentration camps. Afterwards, Rudolf walks up and down some staircases by himself. And then the film just ends.

What Made an Impression?: Fly on the Wall: I haven’t read the Martin Amis novel that the movie is based on, so I didn’t come into The Zone of Interest knowing too much of what to expect. I did watch the two trailers, but they’re among the vaguest previews I’ve ever seen. It might have helped if I had read a synopsis, but only barely. Writer-director Jonathan Glazer shoots it all like a cinéma vérité documentary, and the presentation is so insular that it can be pretty difficult to suss out even the setting if you haven’t prepared ahead of time. There’s something especially unnerving about this lack of explanation. It feels like you’ve been dropped into a place where you don’t belong, and when you realize where you are, it only becomes even more terrifying.
Surreal & A Little Supernatural: The Zone of Interest prompted one of the most surprising comparisons I’ve ever made in my life as a film buff. Specifically, there are a few moments throughout the film in which a character appears to be trapped in a black space in which all the colors have been flushed out and the sound is distorted. It’s like a cut to hell or some sort of netherworld that felt a lot like the temporal and spatial warping in the Paranormal Activity franchise. The message seems to be: an evil entity is always lurking around Rudolf and his ilk, even if he can’t quite put his finger on it. Continuing the theme of inexplicable time travel, there’s also a flash forward to some janitorial workers at a present-day Holocaust museum, which is just as unforgettably banal as the rest of the film. I spent most of my time watching The Zone of Interest confused about when the plot would actually start moving. Now I can’t get its disturbing plainness out of my head.

The Zone of Interest is Recommended If You Like: The Act of Killing, Staring into the face of evil, Avant-garde film scores

Grade: 4 out of 5 Swastikas