The obvious comparator text for The Zone of Interest is Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, possibly the definitive visual document of the Holocaust and a film most notable for its refusal to show a second of archival footage. The experience of watching The Zone of Interest is far from pleasant: The film, after all, opens with an extended piece of disorienting music played against a black screen. Yet, for all of its visual discontinuities and auditory vileness, Glazer is also daring the viewer to invest in the uninvestable. For as unbelievable as the idea of Auschwitz is, Glazer’s lens presents resisting Auschwitz as a different visual language entirely. The ending of The Zone of Interest offers few answers and far greater ambiguity.

Source: Daily Sun February 06, 2024 10:01 UTC