The Zone of Interest

"I've read multiple reviews on this movie and the vast majority of them gush with high praise. I hated this movie. I get the whole premise of the movie, a high ranking commandant at Auschwitz and his family live just outside the walls of the concentration camp, having everything they ever wished for in their every day lives. The horrible sounds of the camp are always to be heard in the background (gunshots, prisoners' cries, screaming and shouting guards) the family is completely unfazed by these sounds. The Zone of Interest moves excruciatingly slowly. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, a story arc, a plot twist... Nothing. This should have been a short film with a runtime of 15 minutes, and they could have accomplished the same thing. I watch movies to be entertained, not one minute during viewing this film, was I entertained. 1/10 "

"I give this film 3.5 stars. What a chilling true story. In many ways it reminded me of rosemary’s baby set in a normal setting and yet something evil and demonic going on. The family seems out of touch, apathetic even to what is going on in camp auschwitz next door. Still it was showing a perspective we don’t usually see about nazi germany. Disturbing!!!"

"Hard to watch and emotionally challenging. Phenomenal movie that I can’t stop thinking about."

"This is one of those films I believe everyone should see atleast once. It also made me realize I need to learn more about what really went on at those concentration camps. I know more about the actual war than I do about the type of things these people actually endured. This film also help you understand that this could actually be you more than you think. These Natzi were regular people just like you and i. And to a certain degree if we compare what’s going on across the world we are more alike these people who went on living regular lives while ignoring the atrocity that’s happening everyday."

"Good, unique, yet I felt it could have been better overall... I did not "feel" the impact as I felt I should have, given the horrific circumstances, but perhaps that's because I couldn't visually "see" it. I assume this movie relied more on the "sound," which really didn't have too much of an effect on me. One detail, which made it seem more unrealistic, is that I felt they repeated the same combination of background sounds in an almost endless loop--just an observation on that alone, which perhaps may be minor in comparison to the actual story. It would have been satisfying to show the further story of the commandant, which I knew there was, unless that was meant to be assumed."

"This movie had been very high on my watchlist ever since I heard about it. Expectations wise, it did exactly what was intended. It was a truly disturbing (yet absolutely necessary) film that was masterfully executed. What really stood out was how it managed to convey the disturbing nature of what was happening just by using sound. A very powerful way to convey how evil can thrive and not to mention how casually people can view horrific events happening around them (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON also conveys the latter point really well). Phenomenal acting and especially the direction by Jonathan Glazer (who absolutely deserves to be nominated for this), along with cinematography, sound mixing, production design, and the minimalistic score. At least Top 3 of the year in my view. Everybody must watch this at least once IMO. PS: Between this and ANATOMY OF A FALL, what a year for Sandra Hüller!"

"Your ears won’t let your eyes escape the reality next door. And vice versa. This was a hard watch as intended."

"+ I was expecting this movie to infuriate me, given the premise, but instead I sat through one of the eeriest movies I have ever seen. In case you don't know, this movie centers around a German family who live right next to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The patriarch is the commandant of the camp, and together with his wife, they try to create a 'good life' for themselves and their kids. What struck me as eerie is the fact that there isn't a single traditional "antagonist" in the movie. The Jews are workers in the house, while the rest we only hear through screaming voices and other rough commotion on the other side of the fence. The rest of the movie unfolds like a family story, with the heads of the household doing their best to live their idea of a good life together. Even the challenges they face are job transfers (to another camp) and the problem of how to maximize the death toll in a chamber with high ceilings, (like they are spit balling a real life work problem) or how they will plant trees in their garden to block the sight of the camp. There is no mistaking the horror of the story, but it's played straight, and that is a way of presenting the Nazi point-of-view that I have never seen before. They are people who have no remorse or inkling that they are doing anything wrong. The story is done skillfully with perfect performances and expressionist techniques that the director employed in one of his previous movies (Under The Skin). I can see this movie land in different ways with different people. I personally was not expecting it to play out like this and I must give credit to the filmmakers for making something this challenging to watch. Great movie, difficult subject, jarring results. - I can't think of a weakness, that when viewed with the whole, doesn't make the movie more fascinating."

"A tutorial on how sound design can be used for great storytelling. Plus, that damn camerawork is super clean. This film is possibly the best way anyone can make a holocaust film without being contrived nor exploitative. "

"I kinda liked it . It could have been better. But very disturbing with the background noises ! And things we see in the movie with the Ashes from Auschwitz covering some of the flowers. And the wife bragging how she found diamonds in tubes of toothpaste! Keeping the Jewish people’s things like clothes and fur coats and giving them away to servants! Seeing the beautiful home and flower garden and all the fancy food and pool parties really upset me because on the other side of the stone wall atrocities were happening! The mother in law who is upset to see what is really happening decides to leave and writes a letter telling her daughter how she is upset and most likely ashamed of what her daughter has become. This part I liked because we see the point of view of some family members that did not tolerate or agree on what was happening. Anyway I should have not looked at this before bedtime because like I said it was disturbing! "