The Zone Of Interest is the film that everyone needs to see

Jonathan Glazer is a director who only makes a film once in a blue moon, so when his new film comes out, people sit up and take notice.

The Zone Of Interest is the latest outing from the English filmmaker, and Glazer once again pushes the boundaries of what can be done in mainstream cinema.

A loose adaptation of the novel by Martin Amis, the film tells the story of the Höss family, the Nazi family that lives beside Auschwitz.

The Höss family are the typical Third Reich family; they enjoy the great outdoors, eat together as a family, have the best food on offer to them and the parents explain to their children that sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.

Seeing the traditional family unit warped to fit the Nazi ideology is chilling, more so when you consider this is still living history for some people.

Rudolf Höss, the real-life figure who served as the Commandant at Auschwitz, is portrayed with bone-chilling precision by Christian Friedel. 

Friedel is joined by fellow German star Sandra Hüller, who has the fortune of appearing in two of the greatest films in recent memory between this and Anatomy Of A Fall.

Friedel and Hüller play their characters with stomach-churning accuracy; we fully believe that these people have been brainwashed into thinking that the unspeakable evil they are facilitating is the right thing to do.

One early scene sees Hüller waltz around the room in a mink coat taken from a prisoner, while a visiting guest openly discusses going on a diet to fit into clothes taken from a more petit prisoner.

One scene later in the film has Friedel’s character phoning home after a party and admitting that he couldn’t enjoy it as his mind was too focused on his work in the camp and how to be more efficient.

Glazer’s previous film, Under The Skin, was a masterclass in making the banal seem terrifying, and he pulls the same trick here.

On a technical level, The Zone Of Interest is astonishing.

The power of the film is the power of implication; we never see any of the horrors that take place, we merely hear it.

The Zone Of Interest goes out of its way to not show anything that happens within the walls of Auschwitz, and the sound design becomes a character in itself.

A low, droning noise is omnipresent for the majority of the film, we only hear the barking of dogs, the shouting of children or stray gunshots go off, and the horror is left up to the imagination of the viewer.

The score by Mica Levi is minimal and there is barely any music for roughly 90% of the film; when the music kicks in, it hits like a sledgehammer and you want to put your hands over your ears.

For anyone who has visited the likes of Dachau, Breslau or Auschwitz, you will be aware that there is an unspoken feeling that something awful has happened there.

There is a surreal, woozy atmosphere in those places; it is the test of a writer to put it across in words.

In a way that feels impossible, Glazer manages to capture that elusive feeling.

The most remarkable thing about The Zone Of Interest is that the film has been granted a 12A rating, yet it is as disturbing as any film in recent memory.

The Zone Of Interest playing in cinemas is a bold and audacious choice; it is an uncommercial film in pretty much every sense, it isn’t a film where you can chew on popcorn, you are expected to sit there and observe the film like a museum piece.

This film demands an awful lot from viewers, and current events may make this film seem like a tough sell but it is crucial that as many people see this film as possible in a cinema setting.

The Zone Of Interest premiered at Cannes last May, but there is no way Glazer and his team could have foreseen the events of the proceeding months taking place.

It is understandable that some people may not want to see this film as it is too tied to current events or is too upsetting, but the arts as a whole are richer for having films like this exist.

The Zone Of Interest is a film designed to educate – which is why we implore anyone working in the Department of Education to add this to the curriculum – just as much as it intends to provoke.

The events of this film took place 80 years ago, and we are losing people who were there to tell first-hand accounts of what happened.

History classrooms across the world are adorned with the George Santayana quote “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

As a society, we would do well to heed his words and see The Zone Of Interest.