Be Warned. 4 / 5
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
Jonathan Glazer returns with a pitch-black tale that looks at the horrors of war from a chillingly different perspective that only amplifies the impact on those involved.
The Zone of Interest follows a family in the midst of World War II living next to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. Rudolf Höss' role as commandant of Auschwitz forces his family to climatise to the darkness and numb themselves to the presence of pure evil. This makes for deeply uncomfortable but powerful viewing, keeping much of the true horror off-screen which leaves the mind to fill in the haunting gaps of what you don’t see.
Paired with a nauseatingly effective score from Mica Levi and effective sound design by Johnnie Burn, Glazer has created an experience that gets under your skin in every way imaginable. It's what you see, it's what you don't see, it's what you hear, it's the absence of sound - what makes this film so horrifying is the very lack of horror itself.
Written by Jack Aling Read his latest reviews at: letterboxd.com/TheJackAling