The Zone of Interest

The film focuses entirely on the Hoss family, in which we mainly see the daily events passing in review. Mrs. Hoss is very satisfied with what she has achieved, a beautiful life, a few children and a beautiful garden + a large greenhouse that she herself has built, when her mother comes along at one point she proudly shows her what she has achieved, at a certain point you wonder whether she knows what is happening behind that wall, but later in the film she places a comment to a domestic helper that shows that she is indeed aware. The director has consciously chosen not to show any horror of the camp itself, the only indications that something is wrong are through sounds, the barking of dogs, the cries of children, shots in the background, and the screams of camp guards. But nothing is shown. That is a choice you make but I didn't think it was a strong choice, the contrast between camp and the happy home is never shown, what remains is a rather boring succession of family scenes combined with a bit of drama when Mrs. Hoss is upset as it turns out that they might be transferred. That this film is so acclaimed is a bit of a mystery to me, I don't find anything special about it and at times the film is even quite boring.

There's a house that looks and feels like any other, with a mother and her children who are brothers - and there's a wall around this plot, the other side people are not, and they will not get the chance, to rediscover. As the father is the commandant of death, responsible for taking their last breath, though he lives without a care, just like his wife who loves it there, and it's clear they're very proud, of their success. After all, you have to have a certain mind, to exterminate a race of humankind, and then live a normal life, without guilt, or strain, or strife, in a house, with a big wall, to hide behind.

It's rare that I say this but 'The Zone of Interest' is a film where the more you know going in, the more you will likely enjoy it. I always try my best to know as little about a film going in as possible, however I think that really hurt my enjoyment of this film. I kept waiting for a story to develop, for some kind of conflict or plot or just... something. In hindsight I now see what the film was going for and if I had known that I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more (or at least a little more). I had to watch a few explanation videos to fully grasp what they were going for. This is clearly a very intelligent and well thought out piece of cinema, but it certainly isn't going to be for everyone. Watching those explanation videos made me realise that I myself am nowhere near smart enough to fully appreciate a film like this on a single viewing. I think I like the idea of 'The Zone of Interest' more than the actual film itself. This one won't be for everyone, however if you are able to grasp what they're going for and connect with it, I imagine it could be quite a special experience. 6/10.

'' The Zone of Interest '' is a horrifying movie, quite disturbing, with an impressive cinematography. The movie manages to say a lot without showing much. You can't see the Holocaust, but you know its there and you feel the horror of it through the sounds coming over the wall. But, what is more terrifying is the way the family acts in contrust to what is happening right next to them, something that is of their creation. But, strip the movie from its cinematography and you aren't left with much. There is no storyline to it, no real dialogue, and, even though that's impressive at first, it becomes pointless after the first hour, when you have already consume what the movie wanted to pass through and you were left just looking at a moving screen. So, overall, three out of ten.

I respect Jonathan Glazer's idea for this movie and the themes of the banality of evil, but I feel there is a problem with the final product. People who need to see this movie, especially in today's climate, either won't, or if they do, they may not pick up on anything. Yes, it's obvious it takes place outside of Auschwitz, but anything more than that is very subtle. I don't think it would have hurt to actually make the Nazis seem bad at least once just to hammer the point home. There are a couple of powerful scenes such as when you can hear the guards find a prisoner who stole an apple, but those scenes are rare. The different filming choices were interesting, but I found that they took away from the movie rather than add. It seems like I'm in the minority for how I feel about this movie and that's ok. I think the ideas this movie presents are strong, but only for people that might already understand those ideas and that's the problem. There are other Holocaust movies that show the true horrors much better and I think that's more important at the end of the day.

I knew nothing about this film before the screening and during the first minutes I was afraid it would be overly long, bland, and boring. Then I realised what it was about. We have arrived at the point where the horror of the Holocaust is so well-known that there is no need to show the inside of the camps anymore. The mere suggestion is enough to imbue the banal with meaning. The Zone of Interest is a bland film and a gruesome audio play in one, twisting everything into a nauseating double-entendre. Cinematographer Lukasz Zal lets a static camera capture wide frames. He deliberately keeps his distance so we, the audience, can observe. This objective point of view is then contrasted with several artistic moments with negative images or monochromatic slates. Such interpretative inserts don't add anything to the film but don't hurt it either. It underlines the horror. However, the soundscapes by composer Mica Levi push this feeling through much more effectively. This film is not for the squeamish, even though there is no gore, only sounds. But that is more than enough.

I watch many films every year and I've been a fan of Glazer's scant filmography, but this film annoyed me to no end. That it's received 5 Oscar nods and 3 wins with BAFTA is excruciating. Pretentious, unsubtle, repetitive, dull, and sickening, I can't remember disliking a film this much. Add the offensive vomit scene with Hoss, a man who slaughtered and engineered millions of deaths as a clean, matter of fact was an offense. A horrible insult. This man had no conscience. And Hedwig cavalierly trying on the coats stolen from their victims was revolting to me. My guess is this wins at least Sound with Oscar, a repellent thought. I felt condescended to, by a film student pretending to be artsy. An amateur trying to channel Orson Welles. I'll never revisit this exercise in banality again. 1 star.

I went to the cinema to watch a movie about one of the the greatest crimes against humanity and what I saw was a crime against the art of filmmaking. I go to the movies to experience emotions; if the movie is about the holocaust, I expect to be overwhelmed by waves of strong emotions, from horror to rage to compassion. The one thing I would not expect when watching a movie on such a sensitive subject is to feel bored and ultimately irritated; but that's what happened with The Zone Of Interest, and that was the price to pay to a misunderstood notion of cinematic art that many, too many European directors have. They need to look "difficult", different, not mainstream, hard to read; engaging the audience is not as important to the as showing off their artistic originality and eccentricity. It is a sanctimony attitude that ends up alienating many viewers even when touching such sensitive subjects. This is no spoiler, just a warning for potential viewer: this movie is an empty box, there's absolute nothing in it.

Because of the topic of The Zone of Interest, the movie automatically receives a lot of praise by the critics. But be warned - if you expect a strong story or plot, you will not get much. Certainly, in a certain sense, the movie's approach to the theme of the Holocaust is thought-provoking, but that's simply not enough for a full length movie - there are some strong pictures and scenes, but observing a family and staff doing their daily routines and stuff just can hold one's attention so far (at least mine) - some scenes are overlong and just bored me a lot. What else? Production and cast are solid on a TV-movie scale. The Zone of Interest reminds me of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas; the latter one is far more suspenseful and entertaining (despite the serious theme), and last but not least, the way better movie. Final words: an interesting experiment but just not executed (and thought thru) well enough to make a lasting impact.