The Zone Of Interest

There is no denying the original voice that British director Jonathan Glazer brings to his work - notably reworking Michel Faber’s novel Under The Skin, and in other titles including Sexy Beast and Birth.

Here the source material is another book - Martin Amis’ 2014 novel The Zone Of Interest which was the official name for the area around the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Nothing could be more chilling than to watch this rich family creating a cosy home for themselves in the shadow of the walls of the camp. The father Rudolph Höss (played by Christian Friedel) is the commandant with his wife Hewing (Sandra Hüller) living what looks like an idyllic existence.

They are first glimpsed on a swimming trip in the countryside, relishing nature with their five children. Glazer gradually pieces together the true picture of their lives: the SS uniform, the watchtowers and the chimneys from the gas ovens belching smoke in the distance.

Normality is further demonstrated with bedtime stories, a swimming pool in the garden, and horticulture to contrast with the horrors what is going on just over the wall.

The film delicately reveals the unthinkable acts that are taking place without actually showing them which makes them even more disturbing. The violence and acts of slaughter are unfurling sight unseen but all the more troubling for that.

When Rudolf is transferred to Berlin his wife’s main concern is that she might be about to lose her beautiful dream home and garden rather than showing any concern for the terrors unleashed on the inmates.

It is boldly shot including some black and white sequences while the film’s soundscape is mixed to a jangling score by Mica Levi.

The couple are viewed more as spoilt children who are using the Nazi regime to advance their own ends rather than displaying any qualms about the enormity of what is being perpetrated in their name as steam trains are viewed in the distance delivering the latest consignment of victims. Glazer was struck by the fact that many of those living next to the camps were able to lead virtually “normal” lives.

The reality, however, is anything but normal.