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.

Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d’une chute - 2023)

Angela and I really liked this story of a woman accused of her husband's murder in the French Alps and so does the Academy with five Oscar nominations, including lead actress Sandra Hüller, whose German stoicism belies her pain. Young Milo Machado Graner is also wonderful as their nine year old son Daniel and Swann Arlaud and Samuel Theis are talented and easy on the eyes as Vincent the lawyer and Samuel the husband, respectively.

Some have opined that Justine Triet's Best Director nomination is the reason Greta Gerwig was snubbed this year (because they can't nominate two women?). But Triet's leadership, as well as the nominated Original Screenplay by her and Arthur Harari are, indeed, worthy. This movie's other two Oscar nominations are for Best Picture and Editing. I should mention that it also won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year. France's César Award nominations were just announced and this got eleven.

No composer is credited and only five songs are listed for the soundtrack. A cover by the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band of 50 Cent's rap tune P.I.M.P. is played over and over. Listen here to the cover. I'm laughing now because I didn't realize Snoop Dogg did a remix of the original (watch here) and Daniel's dog is named Snoop! Apparently the filmmakers thought that all viewers would recognize the song and know its misogynistic lyrics. We didn't. Okay Boomers.

Hüller's character Sandra is a German woman living in France with her French husband and their French-speaking son. Sandra's English is better than her French so the movie is about half in English. Of course there are subtitles for the French lines. Captioning for the English words was essential for me, especially in the opening scene when P.I.M.P. is played very loudly (an important plot point), and I couldn't have made out the dialog without captions.

Hüller, who is actually German, was last blogged for I'm Your Man. This is Graner's third feature after some TV. Arlaud, with almost a hundred credits, and Theis, with a few dozen, are new to me. Triet has directed five other features and co-wrote three. Harari co-wrote one of Triet's other features, starred in another, and directed/wrote two more of his own.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are not plummeting with their averages of 96 and 91%. Ann and I rented it January 28 on Apple TV.

I'm Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch - 2021)

We loved this comedy about a researcher who reluctantly agrees to test an android that’s been programmed to be her life partner. In German with subtitles, it stars Maren Eggert and Dan Stevens as the robot who apparently speaks German with an "English accent." Sandra Hüller has a supporting role as the android maker's company representative. The comedy is restrained but quite successful.

Maria Schrader directs and co-wrote the script with Jan Schomberg, based on a 2019 short story, set in 2029, by Emma Braslavsky.

I've tried and failed to stream the excellent soundtrack by Tobias Wagner, other than this track on YouTube. For some of the tracks, he clearly uses an out of tune piano for creative dissonance, and on others, such as the one linked here, everything is perfectly pitched.

Stevens was last blogged for Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, in which he played a Russian (he is British through and through, best known as the unattainable heartthrob in 34 episodes of Downton Abbey) and Hüller for Toni Erdmann.

Eggert has dozens of credits but is new to me. Schrader won a Prime Time Emmy for directing all four episodes of Unorthodox and has helmed four other features, as well as having a full acting career. Schomberg has written a handful of features and directed some of them, including one starring Hüller and scored by Wagner. The latter has a number of credits in shorts, features, and TV.

A New York Times critics pick, this movie has a 96% average from Rotten Tomatoes' critics and 85 from its audiences.

Submitted by Germany as its official Academy Award entry, this has begun accruing wins and nominations at festivals, and is now available to rent on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and possibly other platforms. We watched it on November 9.

Toni Erdmann (2016)

I loved this story of a practical joking father trying to reconnect with his workaholic daughter despite its excessive length (2:42). Jack liked the second half a lot, though we both agree it could have been much shorter. Director/writer Maren Ade (MAR-in AH-day) apparently said she thought cutting it would hurt its pace and, frankly, its languidness didn't bother me as much as it did Jack.

Ade also said she doesn't really consider it a comedy (I agree) though it has lots of hilarious moments and some pretty funny, intensely awkward scenes. Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek (both new to me) are quite wonderful as the leads and the supporting cast works well.

Nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar (it's a German production, with dialogue in German, Romanian, and English) and much lauded at Cannes a year ago, its American remake is already in motion with Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wiig to star and Ade to produce along with Wiig, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and more (those could change, but they would be great). I predict that the remake will be more the speed of us short-attention-spanned Americans.

Speaking of the Oscars--this Sunday!--here's the running list of nominees, sorted alphabetically.

If you suffer from Motion Picture Motion Sickness (here's my complete MPMS list), sit in the back because the camera does swing wildly from time to time.

No composer is credited, though a Gabriel Grote is listed for additional music. There's nothing posted online.

Rated R for nudity and sex, this is not for kids but is much beloved by Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 93% to its audiences 80. I recommend it for those with patience. You will be rewarded.