User Comments for The Zone of Interest

Götterdämmerung says...

3 months ago

It's boring, that's the problem. The Zone of Interest is completely uninteresting.

Scenery, wardrobe and all of that is very well done, which infuriates me because they could have done such an interesting film if they'd had shown the funcioning of Auschwitz. In that camp there were stories worth telling. Anyways, I regret having spent money in the cinema for this one.

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SkinnyFilmBuff says...

2 months ago

The biggest strength of this film is the extreme contrast between the story of the Höss family and the story taking place on the other side of the wall. The former gets most of the attention, with the movie playing out like a slice-of-life family drama. But the latter, which exists only in the background, unspoken and off screen for most of the film, is what packs the punch. The writers leverage the knowledge that most audiences already have - we all know what was happening. And that's where the contrast is - watching a man help orchestrate one of humanity's darkest moments without any acknowledgement is disturbingly compelling. That said, this isn't my favorite kind of film, as it feels less focused on building a narrative arc and more focused on the thematic ideas. Just a little too arthouse for my tastes.

Like - Dislike - 300

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miguelreina says...

2 months ago

It captures horror through a horrifying everyday life, using the viewer's cinematic memory to reflect the perversion of the Holocaust off-screen. The invisible look at the daily life of a family that has achieved their aspirations as human beings, at the same time dehumanizes them, and the introduction of expressive overhead shots breaks that invisibility to show the most direct reality. The director takes risky decisions that manage to integrate perfectly, and an ending that places us directly in the horror of the denials of the reality that we constantly live.

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JHenryS says...

2 months ago

This is a nearly perfect movie, from Hüller's performance, to the editing, to cinematography, production design, and I don't even need to mention sound. I'll admit it almost lost me in the middle, but there are enough memorable scenes throughout to land it firmly on the "Best Films I'll Never Watch Again" list. By keeping the truth of the holocaust just offscreen, Glazer lets the horror of that knowledge grow in the viewer's mind far more effectively than if he had put some horrible image on screen (this is Spielberg's Jaws effect). And it's that constant knowledge, juxtaposed with images of pretty flowers that so effectively creates this "Horror through Complacency," putting the viewer squarely in the shoes of the Höss family. Glazer is pointing the finger at you, at the audience, at the world, demanding "how do you live with yourself!?" He calls into question not only the actions of those involved at Auschwitz, but of humanity's actions across history, into the present. As we say every year at Passover, "If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Like - Dislike - 100

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laurenhannahcrofts says...

2 months ago

I like the concept of the mundane acts seen from the family throughout, it enunciates the horror of the situation.

There are some good scenes, i particularly thought the auschwitz museum scene was powerful.

I of course can’t deny that this film is artistically good and moving, but it also felt like I wasted 1hr45 minutes of my time a little bit.
For me it seemed like some things went unanswered and were just confusing, i’ll perhaps look them up to explore the plot more.
It’s a shame as this film sounded right up my street.

Like - Dislike - 100

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Dulneth.P says...

2 months ago

What the fuck even happened here :sob:

Without a doubt a technical masterpiece, the sound design rivalling movies like Oppenheimer even, the camera angles, cinematography and the colors all compliment the premise of the movie beautifully.

But here's the thing: as stunning as it looks and as horrifying as it sounds. There is absolutely no direction in terms of plot or character arcs. It's like wandering off in a beautiful landscape without any sense of direction or a map. The acting is solid and it does a good job at exploring the cruelty of war, but without any narrative development. It feels like a repetitive slob making me nod off more than twice.

_Beauty Will Take You Only So Far_

Like - Dislike - 100

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jjjjs says...

2 months ago

Such a simple and powerful movie, I feel it will cause a lot of wine. Yes, they lived like that, this is not hyperbole, look around, many still do. Then they said that they didn’t know, some even believed it. In this boredom and everyday life, there is all the horror. When the sweet smoke over the ivy fence doesn’t interfere with life. Will there be an Oscar?

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Acoucalancha says...

2 months ago

Undoubtedly a piece of art kind of movie with every frame having a special meaning. The cinematography, sets, costumes, score, sound... it's all peak cinema. The only problem is I didn't feel anything watching it. There's no real character arcs or story or even emotion (made me think of *Skinamarink* at times) it feels empty. The horror happening in the background thing and the scenes with the flowers are a brilliant idea. The sound is disturbing at first, sure, but I got over it after a few scenes and it doesn't have anything else to offer for the remaining runtime that's really worth experiencing except for the brilliant cinematography.

I want my four minutes of black screen at the beginning back!

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Reply by The_Argentinian

2 months ago

A black screen accompanied by music was common in the 60s. 2001: A Space Odyssey being a popular example. Have you never seen that before?

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Reply by Acoucalancha

2 months ago

@the_argentinian I did watch it but absolutely hated it with all my heart. Not for me.

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Reply by The_Argentinian

2 months ago

@acoucalancha fair enough. These kind of movies require patience. You're watching people do things that don't move the plot forward since there's no plot to speak of.

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StuntmanBob says...

3 months ago

The Zone of Interest tells a story that is far more interesting than the pictures it displays on the screen. It is heart-wrenching to watch a family living ordinary lives while such atrocities are taking place in their backyard. The film is great, but not always entertaining.

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asrafulshanto says...

2 months ago

"The Zone of Interest brilliantly captures the complexities of humanity amidst the horrors of WWII, offering a haunting exploration of love, morality, and the banality of evil. With powerful performances and thought-provoking storytelling, it's a film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll."

Masterpiece Cinema

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Jordyep says...

3 months ago

Quite a frustrating watch. It has this great concept of showing mundane, everyday life juxtaposed with horrifying imagery and sound hanging in the background, many reviewers have referred to it as the banality of evil. It's an inventive way of doing a Holocaust movie, but there's not much else to this. Glazer spreads the concept really thin over the 105 minute runtime, and I started to check out around the halfway mark. It's lacking in structure (no character arcs or big plot developments), every time it threatens to go somewhere it turns out to be an excuse to use the same bag of tricks. The acting and stilted cinematography are both pretty decent, but because they're both meant to serve the understated tone and nothing else, it can't fall back on those aspects. Again, if the tone is enough to carry this experimental film for you, your experience might be different. However, I became increasingly numb towards the repetitive nature, eventually feeling rather indifferent towards the experience (which is the last thing I want with a movie like this).

4.5/10

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Reply by trickydickie

2 months ago

@jordyep "I became increasingly numb towards the repetitive nature, eventually feeling rather indifferent towards the experience"<br /> that might be the point

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Reply by ETdj

a month ago

@jordyep I don't think the point I'm about to make is going to be lost on you, after all, the start of your comment highlights that you've noted "the banality of evil" and it's juxtaposition, but I do find it somewhat ironic that you end your comment with, "I became increasingly numb towards the repetitive nature, eventually feeling rather indifferent towards the experience", which I wonder might be the whole point of the movie: that those depicted became increasingly numb (... see the rest of your sentence) towards the genocide they were committing.<br /> We, the viewer, is a participant in that indifference. If we were to be shown the horrors taking place over the wall we would quite rightly be snapped back to no longer dismissing them for the 1.5 hour duration. Perhaps not showing them simulates becoming numb to them over years? Having said that, I had a desperately uncomfortable feeling throughout brought on by the hints and reminders of the horrors off-screen and the benefit of hindsight given to us by the history books. <br /> I was one of the people you suggest saw the exact same thing as you, but had a different reaction to it. <br /> 8.5/10

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Reply by Jordyep

a month ago

@etdj I’m not saying they needed to show the holocaust, I acknowledge that not showing it is one of its strengths. But to me hitting the indifference emotion for 90 minutes isn’t that interesting, especially when it isn’t super heady or conceptual besides that. Sure, it brings the ‘there’s still tragedy hidden all around us’ point home effectively, but it isn’t much of a climax or arc. It’s too thin to build your whole movie around that, it doesn’t leave much of an impression. With the way it’s constructed now I feel like this should’ve been a 20-30 minute short.

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