Zone of Interest is masterful, intense... and unforgettable
Film review: Zone of Interest (12A) – seen at The Light Cinema, Wisbech
Stars: Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller
Director: Jonathan Glazer Run time: One hour, 45 minutes
Another week, another Oscar nominee showing at The Light... and one that will stay in my mind for a long time.
This unique take on the horrors of the Holocaust, based on the novel by Martin Amis, haunts you long after you’ve left the cinema.
And for those of you who don't enjoy subtitled films, please give it a go... it's so impressive, you'll hardly notice.
The UK/Poland co-production is haunting in its everyday normality as it focuses on a German Nazi concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their family, who have built their dream home... next to the gruesome complex.
Cleverly, you never see the wretched inmates or the prison itself, just the wall separating family bliss from Nazi hell.
Friedel and Hüller are coldly commanding in the main parts as the loving mum and dad of three children, their domestic bliss soundtracked by the background noise of the screams, moans and gunshots of hell on earth, with smoke flumes from the crematorium a brutal visual sign of what is happening only yards away.
Certain scenes are particularly chilling. Such as the commandant who puts hundreds of thousands to death in the gas chambers close to tears at the thought of leaving his beloved horse, or his wife delighting at the treasures she pilfers from the clothes of imprisoned Jews, and her eldest son locking his brother in the conservatory, pretending he is gassing him to death.
At the end of the movie, we leap forward 80 years to what is now the Auschwitz museum and see the piles and piles of shoes once belonging to those who died. It is heartbreaking.
The day after I saw it, the film deservedly picked up awards for Outstanding British Film, Best Film not in the English language and Best Sound.
It's hard to find the right superlatives to describe this film without being glib but it does deserve some. Perhaps masterful, intense... and unforgettable.
By Jeremy Ransome
Rating 9/10
