The Zone of Interest (2023)
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A family lives in an idyllic home situated directly adjacent to the perimeter of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The story
In 1943, Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the German Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp, resides with his wife Hedwig and their five children in a home located next to the camp. While the family enjoys an idyllic domestic life—tending to a garden and enjoying the outdoors—the horrific reality of the camp exists just beyond the garden wall. The film explores the mundane existence of the Höss family as they remain willfully detached from the atrocities occurring in the immediate vicinity, focusing on their daily routines and the physical proximity of the concentration camp's operations.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1943, Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, lives with his wife Hedwig and their five children in a home adjacent to the camp. The family enjoys a seemingly peaceful life; Höss takes the children out to swim and fish, while Hedwig tends the garden. They are provided with luxury items taken from murdered Jews, and the sounds of the camp—gunshots, screams, and industrial machinery—are heard but ignored as part of the background. The narrative follows their daily routines, including Höss's involvement in camp logistics, such as approving a new crematorium. The story also follows a young Polish girl who secretly helps prisoners. As Höss is promoted and prepares to move to Berlin, he remains focused on the efficiency of the camp's operations. The film concludes with a transition to the present day, showing janitors cleaning the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, before returning to 1944 to show Höss descending into a dark corridor.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Original languages
- German; Polish; Yiddish
- Directors
- Jonathan Glazer
- Writers
- Jonathan Glazer · writer
- Cast and characters
- Christian Friedel · Rudolf Höss; Sandra Hüller · Hedwig
- Genres
- historical drama
- Themes
- banality of evil; detachment; proximity to atrocity
- Tone and mood
- clinical; unsentimental; forensic
- Premise and plot tags
- historical; holocaust; biographical
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2014 novel by Martin Amis
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, being described as a 'landmark movie' and 'devastating Holocaust drama' that explores the 'banality of evil'. It was praised for its sound design and unique approach to portraying the perpetrators of the Holocaust.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · scale: percentage · review count: 356; Metacritic · score: 92 · scale: 100 · review count: 58
- Awards and nominations
- Best Picture · Academy Awards · 96th · nomination; Best International Feature · Academy Awards · 96th · win; Best Sound · Academy Awards · 96th · win; British Academy Film Awards · Best Film Not in the English Language · win; British Academy Film Awards · Outstanding British Film · win; Golden Globe Awards · nomination · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film's sound design was based on a 600-page document of historical records.; The production used a thermal imaging camera for nighttime scenes.; The film was inspired by the 2012 documentary The Act of Killing.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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