The Zone of Interest | DISTURBINGLY BRILLIANT
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- #thezoneofinterest #holocausteducation
Jonathan Glazer wrote and directed the disturbingly brilliant film of a Nazi family building an idyllic home life while the father commands the Auschwitz extermination camp on the other side of the wall.
** Deep Dive Movie Reviews contain spoilers **
0:00 - Introduction
2:29 - Unlike any previous holocaust film
5:37 - "The Zone" is so relevant for today
13:04 - The Zone of Interest reminds us we must never forget
15:53 - Sound is such a crucial ingredient
23:35 - The Zone of Interest nominated for 5 Oscars
25:57 - Final score for “The Zone of Interest”
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COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER UNDER SECTION 107 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT 1976 Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
the true horror is that within us all resides the heart of darkness.
The quote: Hedwig's comment to the Polish servant, "I could have my husband spread your ashes across the fields of Babice." Babice is about 16 miles northeast of Auschwitz I, where the Hoess family lived.
(Steve here) Gives context we hadn't known, thanks, and thanks as well for watching!
Also, the wife makes this comment when the servant has done nothing wrong, except set a place for her the wife's mother at the breakfast table.
The house servants were not Jews they were locals. She tells her mother that.
Well Hedwigs mother has left the home and written a note maybe expressing some disdain so Hedwig feels slighted by her mother leaving and lashes out at the maid .@@dinkster1729
@@kaykay2031They were Polish
Mica Levi’s music is awesome - apart from the start and end credits, only two moments in the film are scored. These are the scenes where the girl leaves the apple, and the scene later in Berlin where we see Hoss retching and apparently suddenly aware of the true horror of his actions. In both scenes, the music cannot be ignored - it is loud like a Tibetan ritual, combined with something like the sound of an ulcer forming. This music can be heard as the ‘voice of god’ or ‘conscience’ or whatever you want to call it - the girl reacts by leaving apples for the poor people in the camp, in the other scene Hoss’ reaction is to retch and dry-heave. It’s almost as if he has just watched the modern holocaust museum footage, like we have. But we can have no doubt, he’s just heard the voice of conscience and it makes him ill.
While he was waiting to be hanged in 1947, Hoss wrote to his son, having already repented and returned to Catholicism. “Listen to the voices in your heart . . . “ he says.
PS In the cinema, the music and dialogue was loud, but the background noises over the wall were usually quietly buried in the mix, almost subliminal. In later scenes we see Hoss at business meetings and events in Berlin, and I found myself scanning the busy soundtrack for hidden horrors . . .
(Steve here) Loved this. Very insightful. Appreciate hearing that Hoss repented before his death. Although he suffered the consequences for his actions in this life, I hope he finds forgiveness & peace in the next
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews It struck me also that digestion is a key theme in this film.
Thoroughly enjoyable review guys! I have seen the movie twice and it is unforgettable. One very small nit - around 1:50 you mention that Höss was hanged at Nuremberg - that is incorrect. He *testified* at Nuremberg (he was called by one of the defense lawyers) but he was turned over to the Poles, tried there in 1947 and hanged on the grounds of Auschwitz itself, not far from his villa. You can still see the gallows there today.
(Steve here) Thanks for the kind words and the clarification. Although I'm not normally a supporter of the death penalty, I would be hard for me to argue he didn't get justice being handed over to the Poles
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews THE ZONE OF INTEREST movie.
Here are my thoughts after just watching "The Zone of Interest" and coming home. I had heard about the movie and watched many reviews. I had even heard about what the director said and felt he just demonized Jews while making a movie about the Holocaust and thus proves he is an ignorant fool. But I figured I must see this movie as it isn't maybe even about the family and more about the culture. So I went to see it.
I was pleasantly surprised for the following points:
1) The father is damned. How? He stands to process the Jews from the train and thus is doing the work on the days that matter for a death camp called Bergen-Belsen & the general concentration camp of Auschwitz. They don't show it, but then the reason must be that they want to show you the idea of not damning him. You saw nothing. The director tipping his hat to his hate, so to speak.
2) The wife is damned. How? She finds a diamond in toothpaste and wants more. Why? Because in the processing there is very little the workers are allowed to take from the Nazi state as all is categorized and documented. Stealing from the Nazi state a diamond is her crime. She wants to do it more as taking toothpaste will not be cared about with the Nazi state and she knows the diamonds are untraceable anyway unless documented by being found by the workers in the camp.
3) The mother-in-law is damned. How? She realizes a woman is suffering (a Jew) who out bid her in an auction and is not worried about her. She shows no caring for her or any of them (Jews). What she hates is the burning of human flesh, the noise, and the proximity of it all to her personally. She never voices a concern for her grandchildren and their safety or upbringing.
These are the three main characters and they all are damned. They are Nazis; they should be damned. Do all people who view this movie get this message? No. Some may think only of how they existed in a moment and chose and performed based on the stimuli that affected them. Of course they did. Don't we all?
What is the lesson of the holocaust? Let us look at facts in regards to Triblinka and learn the lesson of the holocaust. In 16 months, 68 Germans with the help of 360 Jews slew over 600,000 Jews. The field had some evidence of buildings having been there. Nothing would have been known of the facts of Triblinka had not the Nazi state kept meticulous records of their accomplishments.
What is the value of this movie? It does not show anything that would damn them. You only hear of the suffering and killing and know this man is in charge of all of it enough to be promoted to improving efficiency in all Nazi death camps and concentration camps throughout all of Europe and efficient enough to be brought back to the largest and most famous death camp and concentration camp in the history of the whole world: the death camp called Bergen-Belsen & the general concentration camp of Auschwitz.
History records that the Nazis in trials after WWII and over the radio in South America while still free abroad after WWII stated aloud "Six (6) million was not enough." This is significant. It means the Nazis did not care about the fourteen (14) million killed in the holocaust. Why should Nazis care about slaying Poles, gypsies, and dissidents in Europe against the Nazi state? The HONOR and the GLORY of the Nazi mindset was in killing the people of Yahweh in large numbers.
Americans today are now being asked in universities throughout our great land and through the speeches of the Democratic politicians within the Senate and Congress whether they will be antisemetic or if they support Israel. I find it absolutely amazing that the impetious for this question was Palestinians beheading Jewish babies or male children, burning alive Jewish mothers, and the fucking of Jewish female minors in cars as they drove them to Gaza Strip. It is abhorrent and explains why Yahweh's Holy Bible states upon Palestine being whole it melts in Isaiah 14:28-31 which is a time when Anti-Christ is identified for the whole world to know and this text states "None shall break rank" meaning Anti-Christ will melt inside Palestine whole not long after it is made whole per the text. Yahweh then declares in the Holy Bible He will destroy all nations off the face of the Earth for all nations will have been against Israel per Zechariah 12:3 and Zechariah 12:9.
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(Steve here) Thanks for a well thought out perspective. Thanks for watching@@ReligionOfSacrifice
@@ReligionOfSacrifice you’ve been sucked in by a few long-since debunked media fibs, eg. there were no beheaded babies, no rapes, and the only people burned alive (and there were plenty) was because the IDF went in with tanks and helicopters armed with bombs that can do that, under orders to make sure no terrorists got out alive, regardless of civilian casualties
The droning sound at the opening and ending of the movie is brilliant. In my mind's eye, it is the antithesis of the silence of the woods, another juxtaposition (if you will). The only difference is that, while to a newcomer to the scene, the occupants of the wood are all too familiar with that sound and know all too well what it represents, yet have no problem brushing it off.
(Steve here) Agreed the drone sound was brilliant, especially in context with the whole film
I haven't seen this film yet (I will) but having heard a number of reviews, it brings to mind an experience of mine when I was a teenager (1970s).
My great-auntie Rosa was visiting Montreal from Australia, a trip she only made twice. She, great-auntie Mania (both older sisters) and my grandma Etia were the only family members of their family who survived the Holocaust.
Anyway, the Vermont PBS tv station was broadcasting Claude Lanzman's documentary "Shoah" at the time over 2 or 3 evenings. I remember watching it on our little black and white TV with Auntie Rosa and asking her why my grandma wouldn't watch with us.
"Because she's afraid she'll see someone she knew" Rosa said. (There is a lot of documentary footage of people, both living and dead in "Shoah".) I've never forgotten Rosa''s comment even these 45 years later. What watching a film is to some is not necessarily what it is to others.
And what might seem extraordinary and even shocking to some may be a 'normalized' reality to others.
(Steve here). Thank you for sharing your story. Yes, people will respond to these films in different ways although I believe they remind us to never forget
(James here) Thanks so much for watching. I've seen SHOAH, it's an absolutely devastating film. Probably one of the most important and powerful documentaries ever made, but almost certainly one I will never watch again.
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews Thanks for your responses. Given what is happening in Gaza and Israel these days makes everything so much more complicated (as if it wasn't before!)
The film I always hark back to is Denis Villeneuve's "Incendies". (Based on Wajdi Mouawad's play.) Maybe it's because I'm from Montreal and grew up knowing many people from Lebanese, Moroccan and Armenian communities,
Villeneuve's latest films are definitely more popular (deservedly so) but as someone who has worked in conflict areas (Indonesia, 1997-2002), "Incendies" gets right to the heart of what real people have to deal with in real situations, whether with family, neighbours, peers or any kind of societal institutions.
Cheers,
Lisanne
(James here) Another absolutely incredible movie, INCENDIES was the first Villeneuve movie I ever saw. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for and it absolutely blew me away.
Hello, Lisanne, I am from Belarus, living in Montreal for over 30 years, and about your age.
Just letting you know that your story moved me very much.
The Denis Villeneuve's "Incendies" left me wounded in heart.
And yes, in the context of what is happening in the world these days, one can't comprehend the carnage and 'eye for an eye' situation.
This movie is very relvant to the present situation - "normal", "loving" people going through their lives, duties and everyday chores. Looks like history is repeating on itself.
My kids are teenagers, and I will try to convince them to watch the film, hoping they understand the tragedy of a situation.
Thank you for sharing your story - it went straight into my Belarusian heart ❤.
P. S. All my great and grandpaterents fought in the WW2, hiding in the woods as partisans. My grandma, being 18-19, was inserting the explosives into the railways to cut the ammunition and provision supplies to the nazi occupants. Was once caught, but could run away thanks to a local policy who knew her father and let her to escape.
From what I learned from watching other reviews the use of sound only was to sharpen the use of sound/hearing as a key perceptual factor.
(Steve here) Interesting, if that's the case it was achieved and with so much more👍
I kept trying to pin point that sound. Was it meant to be the exaggerated sound of the fire bellowing? I’m not sure. It felt like it had more of a meaning than just disturbance.
In the film it’s clear the wife has accepted the genocide as something necessary, since she even threatened a staff to send her to the gas chambers.
I saw the film last night. There are many many metaphors and allusions in the film. The Garden is the Garden of Genesis (the Garden of Delight) of life, fertility and it is backdropped by the Garden of Death, the camp. Light and dark are constant through the film. The garden is in the front and the ashes are dug into the ground in the back of the house. I lived in Krakow for a year, visited Oswiecim twice. This is a horrifying film. I just hope that people don’t think the Germans are excused because they were just “normal” people. I don’t agree with the thesis of the film that we are all capable of this terror. No, we are not ALL capable of this level of horror
(Steve here) Thanks Peter, the film truly highlights the horror. And I'd like to believe I would be incapable of committing these atrocities
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews hi Steve. Your analysis of the film was great. I enjoyed the conversation. It was accurate about the film’s intentions and realizations. I’ll be looking for more of your reviews, peter
Very much appreciated @@peterwhite7428
There was a lot going on in Germany at this time which contributed to this evil manifestation.
In the movie it is said that the housmaids are not Jewish, they were Polish girls from the village nearby. It is explicitly said and yet you managed to distort it in your head while remembering all othe nuances.
(James here) My head is a messy place. I'm surprised I get my name right sometimes. Thanks for watching!
I looked into the Brothers Grimm a few months ago. One thing stood out for me, truly scary stories to tell children,stories they collected throughout Europe,the evil was human. To then see Hoss read a horrible tale about Hansel and Gretel while the Polish girl does something with goodness tells us that the most horrific deeds in Europe were committed recently and not centuries ago
It was the sounds, and in real life, it was also the smells of the smoke from the crematoria depending on the direction in which the wind was blowing.
The house staff were local Poles. Hedwig and Rudulph were poor farmers and she was trying her best to be upper class.
I think Rudolph came from a bourgeois family, but his father died when he was a teenager so that would have had an influence on the family's financial situation. He was supposed to got to the seminary to become a priest, but, instead, he lied about his age and went off to the First World War. He was a child soldier. Could that experience have turned him into a sociopath?
I don't think her mother was appalled at all at what was happening. She said herself she knew a jewish woman, who she used to clean for, who's in the camp.
She just couldn't take the smell.
(Steve here) Interesting perspective, perhaps you're right
I think the mother could not get a good night’s sleep. She knew what was happening but it was just all a nuisance to her.
I was mesmerized by the film. Brilliant. Will see it again.
(Steve here) Yes, the mother's abrupt departure has a number of interpretations@@margkropf5541
I thought the mother was fine with it by daylight, but alone at night she couldn't ignore the full dimensions of it.
Sitting here listening to you guys as I weld away on 3rd shift. I watched this movie a few hours before I came in. It is absolutely fascinating and one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen.
Much appreciated Christopher, glad we could help get you through the work shift
This is a very nice review from both of you, I learned a bit more listening to you so thanks much.
Thanks so much and thanks for listening!
two corrections: those house servants are Polish, not Jewish, and what the commandant said later, about his meeting with other high-ups, was that all he could think about was gassing everyone in the room, I think (I’m doubting myself already) not how many Jews he could gas in the room
The diamond in the toothpaste--nice touch!!
Thank you so much yall. Can't wait to see this one.
The people on the staff were probably not Jewish. Hedwig said it to her mom when she asked if they were. and this is confirmed by historical records. (Most of them were among another group that was also in camps and severely persecuted, Jehovah's Witnesses: Rudolf Höss, camp commandant of Auschwitz, issued an order on 30 September 1942 that female Bible Students were to be used as maids for SS families (Wontor-Cichy, Citation2003, pp. 23, 90 - 91). Hence Witness women received working assignments in SS households before Himmler's letter of 6 January 1943. After 1945, before being executed, Höss gave a report about the working assignments of Witness women in Auschwitz camp (Hoess, Citation1959, pp. 149 - 50).") The only Jewish character may have been the woman with whom Hoess had sex; this would explain why he had to go to this underground tunnel to clean himself in a basement bathroom. The young girl who hid food for the prisoners was a local Polish girl who had a connection with the Polish resistance.
(Steve here) Thanks for the clarification and informative response
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews you are very welcome. Thank you for the review
I agree with you guys. I thought it was this year’s best film. It stayed with me so much I bought it so I could watch it again. I think there are a lot of things open to interpretation. That is why it is so interesting. And it is so, so nuanced and also like a 2by4 to the back of the head with its power. I highly recommend see it in the theater for the sound. The one thing I was confused by is the reference to Hedwig seducing a gardner. I missed that entirely. Are you sure that wasn’t the scene of the oldest boy fooling around with a girl (maybe one of the staff) by the side of the house? I could have missed it but can’t place that at all.
(Steve here) Totally agree with your thoughts. Regarding Hedwig and the gardener, I need a second viewing but am certain Hedwig was also enjoying extracurricular activities
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews maybe you are thinking of the novel. That’s in the novel, but I don’t think it is in the movie, but now I want to watch it again! 😀
I thought Hedwig was just exercising her power over the gardener. He was at her disposal and she made sure he knew it. Monstrous.
the sterile side of pure filth.
3:44 daughter tells her mother no jews are allowed in the house. They employ local girls.
.
Sorry.. you didn’t review the story accurately.
They weren’t Jews in the home. They were local Polish girls:
Mother left because she didn’t want to be next to the camp.. she wasn’t upset about what was going on inside. There were 1 or 2 other things but I can’t remember now.
(James here) Yeah they were Poles, my bad. Not sure this level of nitpicking makes for particularly constructive discussion of the film, though - but thanks for watching anyway.
@@DeepDiveMovieReviewsI agree...many people lose the forest for the trees and forget that not only Jews were victims of the death camps. Polish, Czech, old, young, disabled... Thanks for your in-depth narrative on this incredibly disturbing look at so-called 'normal' Nazi life.
#careerism.... how many people went along with covid and forced vaccines??
.
"The same political narrative that he did."
Tell me you're trash without telling me you're trash.
Say what now?
Please, do some truth research before you review. You get simple facts about the film incorrect!
(Steve here) James and I are film critics, not historians. We rely on others, particularly our listeners, to kindly point out historical events we may have missed or assessed incorrectly. For example that the housekeepers were local Polish women and not Jews as has been noted by some of the audience. But condescending comments without suggestions add little to the environment of film appreciation we are attempting to cultivate here.
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews A simple google search would have revealed that Hoss testified at Nuremberg, but was tried in Poland and was hanged at Auschwitz, near his home. I can't call it "a villa" either. It's not Montecito or Buckingham Palace, just a nice house for a large family with a lovely garden that they are proud of.
6:12 Did this guy just compare "canceling" to The Holocaust??
(Steve here) If you are asking if I compared "cancel culture" to the systematic extermination of 6 million Jewish people, the answer would be a definitive NO
(James here) I mean, thanks for watching, but please feel free to leave your moronic bullshit at home.
@@DeepDiveMovieReviewsWhy even bring it up though? Lots of people cancel other people. And that's fine. It's better than giving them a shot in the jaw or a slap in the face.
@@DeepDiveMovieReviews Quick question here: is the film dubbed or does it have subtitles in North America? I'm hard of hearing and I would prefer to watch it with subtitles.
@@dinkster1729 It has subtitles. Go see it!🙂