Zone of Interest (2023)

Whew, this is chilling. In World War II, a German family lives an idyllic life in a beautiful estate with gardens, a swimming pool, and servants. The catch? It shares a wall with Auschwitz, the attentive father/husband is its Commandant, and the sounds of deadly machinery, gunshots, and screaming victims permeate every scene. No wonder it's nominated for the Best Sound Design Oscar, as well as (burying the lede) Best Picture, Best International Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, among its 53 wins and 152 other nominations.

Christian Friedel plays Commandant Rudolf Höss as a faithful Nazi and Sandra Hüller is his busy wife managing their five children and everything needed to keep the house running.

Director Jonathan Glazer loosely adapted Martin Amis' 2014 novel into this screenplay. I recommend this spoiler-filled article to be read after seeing the movie. Its main headlines, however, are that Höss was a real person and the Zone of Interest was truly the place from which Krakow residents were relocated when Auschwitz was built.

The soundtrack by Mica Levi has not been released but I found three of her clips on YouTube: one, two, three. Lukasz Zal provides the lush cinematography. The movie's audience never sees the horror of the concentration camp but we can't not hear it.

Hüller was last blogged for Anatomy of a Fall, Glazer for Under the Skin, Levi for Zola, and Zal for Ida.

Friedel was top billed as The Teacher who narrated The White Ribbon but I failed to mention him.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are fascinated, with an average of 93%, while its audiences' attentions wander at 78. I rented it the first day it was available to do so, on February 20.