“Zone of Interest”, review: A terrible banality after the Holocaust

Area of ​​interest is a new film directed by Jonathan Glazer. Author of such innovative works as Under the skinthe director wanted to play with cinematic language again. His proposal was well received by the industry. At the Oscars, he received up to 5 nominations, including Best Picture. And at BAFTA she will compete for nine statuettes. A real achievement for a film that, most importantly, leaves no one indifferent.

The film, inspired by real events, is dedicated to Rudolf Höss and in his family. This man was the commander of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. IN Area of ​​interestHowever, their crimes are not shown. Which Glaser gifts are his daily life. A Nazi, his wife and children live in an idyllic house with a garden adjacent to a concentration camp. The only thing that separates their peaceful everyday life from extreme barbarism is a gray wall.

The importance of seeing and listening

For Area of ​​interest, Glaser offers the public a very piquant activity. We live in a time when the viewer is accustomed to being increasingly passive. Moreover, the attention deficit is only increasing. But this film wants to do something different. The director distorts the footage to suggest a constant nearly two-hour activity in the style of experimental films. He hides the true story of his film and forces us to keep our eyes and ears open.

Because production, photography and sound design are the three pillars on which Area of ​​interest and this made it one of the most powerful and ambitious films of the year. The work that goes into setting up each frame is extraordinary. So, while the family chats amicably in the garden and the children play in their pool, the tops of the smoking chimneys of incinerators and gas chambers are visible in the background. Also the cloud caused by the engine of the prisoner train or the observation posts that prevent Jews from escaping Auschwitz.

The tragedy cannot be seen. And yet, it is there. This is perhaps shown in the most disgustingly graphic way possible. Because it forces the audience to see it in their minds. And from there it is impossible to look away. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said in A little prince that “the main thing is invisible to the eye,” and Glaser This was taken literally. The power of imagination shimmers in the millimeter-long voice-over composition, which, after all, is accompanied by incessant and bestial sound planning.

IN Area of ​​interest, I didn’t see Auschwitz. Nowhere, even briefly, is it shown what is happening inside the walls of this fatal wall. But while the images cannot escape, the sounds do. And they are what turn the film into an amazing horror film. Heartbreaking shots, desperate screams, murmurs, wild barking of dogs, cold laughter of the Germans… Glaser There is not a single moment of respite in the uncomfortable shots. Drill our ears with rage. What happened there cannot be forgotten.

The banality of evil

Beyond the catastrophes of the Holocaust, reflection Glaser It’s also extremely accurate. The director wants to show how, thanks to the most extreme suffering, there are those who achieve their ideal life. Because this is exactly what his main characters experience. A routine of reverse morality in which there is no room for problems. Everything is going well, without any problems. Area of ​​interest This is a film in which absolutely nothing happens to the characters. A platitude taken to extremes to mask the guilt of the unnamed. Although the scenario may repeat itself.

No one really talks about what happens on the other side of the wall. As if it was forbidden. Or, worse, as if it is not important and does not deserve a minimum of attention. In addition to the composition of frames and sound, Area of ​​interest He barely mentions it in the first two acts. And when this happens, it is very subtle, removing certain metaphorical scenes in the negative. In addition, just a brief spontaneous mention of the origin of the handmaids, the bag of ashes that serves as fertilizer for the garden… It is terrible to see how people are able to ostracize the most terrible atrocities, commit the most cruel acts. denials, in pursuit of the egoism of a peaceful life.

Obviously, in order to save such a radical proposal as Area of ​​interest, the film eventually has to move. AND Glaser he has no choice but to break his rules in the final act. The director takes his film from there Big Brother who rode horseback in Auschwitz and took him on excursions to other places full of high-ranking Nazi officials. There, the Holocaust begins to emerge among the characters, ironically disappearing from the viewer’s view.

Area of ​​interest

Realizing this, the director makes a choice in favor of a new stylistic resource – negative scenes. At this point in the film, the audience must have become completely calm while watching the film. For this reason, he is tasked with creating an epilogue of sorts that is completely outside the tone. Suddenly it forces us to watch, but this time without secrets and occult games. The barrier has been destroyed.

With such a burning ending, Glaser concludes his most impressive film yet. A perfect portrait of the banality of evil with which it shocks the viewer. During times of war, it is especially important to run these readings. Area of ​​interest This is without a doubt one of the best films of the year, and also one of the most interesting and painful about the Holocaust.