Just outside Auschwitz, SS officer Rudolf Höss lived with his wife Hedwig and their children. There they lived an idyllic life, in a big house with a grandiose garden – indifferent to the holocaust crimes against humanity, going on next to their home. IN The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer portrays the life of the German family, where their happy existence is contrasted with the inhumane reality within the walls of the concentration camp.
The film almost exclusively follows the Höss family as they live an easy-going family life, filled with fishing trips, fine dinners and birthday celebrations. Auschwitz is presented primarily through sound in the form of gunshots and screams, an aspect of the background, but whose presence hits hard. We never get to see what goes on inside the walls, but the subtle presentation and, of course, what we know about real life events is enough to understand the contrast between the family and the camp.
That Jonathan Glazer takes the perspective of the perpetrators with an objective lens through the static and sterile photo makes the portrayal even more unpleasant. It’s impossible to understand or sympathize with either Rudolf, Hedwig, or any of the other adult characters that appear throughout the film, but as a study in banal evil, it’s as interesting as it is deeply nasty.
The gorgeous photography appeals as it accurately lives up to the tonality of the script, and the hair-raising sound design further contributes to the film’s consistently icy feel. All together make a unique film experience, which depicts history in an innovative and valuable way.
