Every year, there are two types of films that get seriously swept up in awards chatter: box office hits that won the lottery by also being critically acclaimed and smaller titles that the average person has never heard of. Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest is a movie that presently exists in the latter category… but the really great thing about awards season is that it has provided the obscure feature with wider recognition.
In the wake of the 2024 Golden Globes and in the run up to the 2024 Academy Awards, you may have heard about The Zone Of Interest, and we’ve put together this article to clue you in on what the movie is and why it has earned great acclaim. If you don’t know anything about the film and you are considering seeing it, it’s a good thing that you found this feature first, as this is a work for which you have to mentally prepare yourself.
What The Zone Of Interest Is About
The Zone of Interest is set in the midst of World War II and centers on the family life of Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. He and his wife Hedwig (Anatomy Of A Fall star Sandra Hüller) move into a beautiful residence that sits just outside of the notorious facility, replete with a lush garden, and work to create a home.
As the sound of train whistles, barking dogs and gun shots can be heard with frequency in the distance, Rudolf and Hedwig have picnics with the children and swim in the nearby river. There are domestic conflicts, like Rudolf being forced to relocate and fighting with Hedwig, who loves the estate too much to leave. But at all times there is a dismissal of the horrors that are unfolding routinely just a few dozen yards away.
The Zone Of Interest Is A Devastating, Emotional Experience
There have been many phenomenal films made about the atrocities committed by the Nazis before and during World War II. Titles like Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and Stanley Kramer’s Judgment At Nuremberg have taken unflinching looks at the nightmare that was orchestrated by Adolf Hitler and his followers, and they are powerful works of art. Any film that properly depicts what occurred at the concentration camps is hard to sit through because of how terrible it is to witness the extreme depravity of which humans are capable – but The Zone Of Interest is a different kind of cinematic experience.
There is the classic horror philosophy that what a filmmaker can make an audience imagine is far more impactful than anything that’s shown on screen. Jonathan Glazer’s movie doesn’t include a scene where Jewish prisoners are herded off of trains and families are separated, but you think about that nightmare every single time a steam whistle echoes out.
We don’t witness those prisoners murdered en masse in the specially designed crematoria, but it’s all one can think about when a collection of ash floats down the river past the Höss home. The barking German Shepherds and gunshots bring to mind the diminished faces of the million-plus people who were worked to exhaustion and then executed at Auschwitz without the film ever peeking over the wall.
While the audience is thinking about all of this and grappling with one of the greatest horrors in human existence, The Zone Of Interest has Hedwig Höss giving a tour of her home’s impressive garden and her kids innocently running around and having fun. The intense contrast spins your head and turns your stomach.
The Zone Of Interest Is Adapted From A Book That Is Based On A True Story
Technically speaking, The Zone of Interest is an adaptation, but it’s an unconventional one. The film is based on the book of the same name by Martin Amis, but there are some significant differences between the film and the source material. In fact, the setting is the same, but the narrative is almost completely changed.
One alteration that is particularly of note concerns the names of the main characters. In Martin Amis’ novel, the protagonists are Paul and Hannah Doll; for the film, Jonathan Glazer opted to use the names of the real people on whom the Dolls were based.
The Zone Of Interest Is Writer/Director Jonathan Glazer’s First Feature Film In A Decade
Jonathan Glazer is not a feature filmmaker who anyone would label as “prolific.” Since making his big screen debut with the heist thriller Sexy Beast in 2000, he has only made three other films: 2004’s Birth starring Nicole Kidman, 2013’s Under The Skin with Scarlett Johansson, and 2023’s The Zone Of Interest. (For comparison, Steven Soderbergh has made 26 movies in that time span, and that includes a stretch when he was “retired.”) While not prolific, his work is eclectic, as each new film is wholly different than the last. The Zone Of Interest is his first period feature and his first to not be in English.
Glazer is a British filmmaker who is also well known for directing music videos (with artists like Massive Attack, Blur, Jamiroquai and Radiohead). As revealed in a New York Times Magazine feature about his new movie, he did years of research about Rudolf and Hedwig Höss, and deals were first made with producers and co-financiers, including A24, to develop The Zone Of Interest in 2019. The movie was shot on location at Auschwitz in the summer of 2021.
The Zone Of Interest Has Earned Near-Universal Acclaim And Is A Serious Competitor In This Year’s Awards Season
The Zone Of Interest had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and while it lost out on being awarded the Palme d’Or, it won the second most prestigious prize, the Grand Prix, and instantly earned acclaim. Critics have highlighted the intense nature of the film, the deep impression that it leaves, and the powerful way that it reflects the banality of evil. It’s also been recognized as a warning bell for today’s society and the horrors in the modern world that persist amidst ignorance.
In addition to sporting a 92 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (with over 200 reviews counted), The Zone Of Interest has earned a great number of nominations and awards from critics groups and film organizations. It was named one of the Top Five International Films by the National Board of Review, and it has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards.
The 2024 Oscars will play out on March 10, and be sure to check out CinemaBlend that night for extensive coverage of the event. The Zone of Interest is now playing in limited theaters domestically.
