THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL: My Quick Review of Jonathan Glazer's THE ZONE OF INTEREST

It isn't very often that I sit down with a film and try to figure out what exactly I thought about it...and can be even rarer if I find myself thinking that I both hated and admired it all at the same time. You may find yourself understanding all the sides, whether they be people claiming the film is an auteur masterpiece while others claim its an obtuse bore.

I knew that a film like The Zone of Interest would be difficult to sit through, and I can't say that my reaction to it was that much of a surprise.

I don't think I could ever say that I loved The Zone of Interest. It seems like too nice of a word to use for such an outing...but I will say that I highly respect it for what it made me feel.

If we were to just describe this film at the most basic surface level, we are watching a family live their lives right behind the walls of Auschwitz. So yes, it is a family of Nazis who seemingly have no real shame or concern about living next door to a place where Jewish people are getting exterminated. This is because it is the home of Commandant Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel), a rather idyllic if not somewhat cold and stark home that he shares with his wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller) and their five children.

This is where the term "banality of evil" may perhaps get overused...and I have seen it used quite often in many of the reviews I have come across but I am honestly amazed at how effective this film is.

Filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, the man behind such heralded indies as Sexy Beast, Birth, and Under the Skin, has finally received more widespread recognition with his work here and I do have to commend him for what he has achieved.

Glazer's method for directing was setting up strategic hidden cameras around the Hoss compound and giving the actors very bare bones blocking. In interviews, Friedel and Huller both stated they could look 360 degrees around them and not see a single camera or crew member as they would be off watching the screens in a van nearby. When I first heard this, I wondered how much it would actually work and if perhaps it was too cold an approach...but the more I think about it, the more I think it works perfectly for this type of film and subject matter.

Huller has also said in interviews that she had zero interest in giving Hedwig any kind of internal life because she was a despicable human being...and at first glance, this sounds like it would lead to a performance that is rather hollow. However, this is Sandra Huller...she manages to find ways to bring out an energy from this total bitch of a human being because that is just how good of an actress Sandra Huller is. 

The film feels like it has no script for significant parts of the film's length. It feels very "in the moment" and, at times, even reminded me of Kubrick's work on films that relied more on atmosphere and themes...particularly something like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This is where I can see why some might take umbrage to the film, as they may say nothing happens and it is just film that sort of coasts on energy...but if anything, I find the film succeeds in ways that are very specific and highly successful. 

We are watching this family live their life with very little care in the world. We watch them swimming in a lake, we watch Hoss take a business meeting in which engineers casually explain to him how effective a new crematorium will be at killing a larger number of Jewish people, Hedwig tries on a new luxurious mink coat, the kids entertain other children in their new swimming pool while we see the smoke from another incoming train of people on path to be murdered.

There are also some sequences shot in night vision where we aren't entirely sure what is happening at first, involving a girl. Combined with Mica Levi's moody score, you feel very on edge yet again until you realize what she is doing and how for one brief moment, we see a glimpse of humanity.

We aren't being spoon-fed here; Glazer finds ways to sneak in. During moments where characters are having a casual conversation, we will hear gunshots faintly in the background or see smoke coming from the crematorium. The sound design here is so effective and it is no wonder that it may have a chance at overtaking Oppenheimer at the Oscars in that category. 

When the film was over, I found myself not really sure what I felt. I knew that the film succeeded in making me uncomfortable and feeling a sense of danger. I don't want to fully spoil anything, but I will say some of the choices made, even those that are quite small, lead to rather stark and powerful results in ways that do make you feel uneasy and unsafe. You really don't know what to expect. 

I can't say that I am going to revisit this film...unless if I am going to sit down and analyze certain scenes gradually, but for a film that mostly relies on "what you don't see" and perhaps what you can only hear, this results are truly remarkable.

It is hard to shake the film from my mind.

The final moments, which involve stark shadows and a time jump, feel rife for analyzation...and leave you wondering if perhaps Hoss had some ounce of empathy...but the whole film also makes you feel complicit too. We feel helpless watching it...and as uncomfortable as that may be, I can always respect a film that pulls that kind of emotion out of it.

With that in mind...

THE ZONE OF INTEREST will receive:

9/10