The Zone of Interest

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”

Primo Levi

Rendering the extermination of six million Jews on film in a dignified, credible way is impossible. In this respect, Jonathan Glazer’s impeccable The Zone of Interest is a masterful achievement. Adapted and directed by Glazer from a Martin Amis novel, The Zone of Interest refuses to show the inhumane atrocities that the Nazis perpetrated on their victims. Instead, it depicts how Nazism normalized an entire nation into abetting the murderous hatred of Jews. It focuses calmly and relentlessly on Rudolf Höss (the imperturbable Christian Friedel) who is based on the real commandant of Auschwitz, his wife Hedwig (the chillingly precise Sandra Huller), and their Nazi brood, who happen to live right next to the camp.

Glazer starts the movie with two minutes of a black screen and the unsettling score by the great Mica Levi, as if preparing us for the unspeakable, and prompting us to listen carefully. Then we are in a beautiful countryside where a bunch of picture postcard Aryans are picnicking by a river on a sunny day.

Through cinematographer’s Łukasz Żal serene compositions, bright and sharply focused, we witness the everyday life of this family as…