The Zone of Interest

Exceptionally disturbing, with an undertone of horror and dread that you cannot quite pinpoint. At every moment, this film indeed does draw your Zone of Interest away from who would typically be considered the main characters, to the background. Sometimes it is a background visual of the fence of Auschwitz, or a sound eminating from over that fence. But often it is so much more miniscule, items and actions that would usually be ignored - lipstick, for instance. The creators have done a truly moving job explaining the gut-punch feeling and disgust of the time period without being actually visually violent. Instead, they let your mind wander, which I find to be potentially more emotionally challenging.

Not particularly my type of movie, with it being more 'artsy' than anything else, but I can still acknowledge it as being good. It's miles better, even for someone like me with the aforementioned, than it probably has any right to be. It does, in my eyes, start off too slowly, though the longer it went on the more I could appreciate it - particularly from a filmmaking perspective. As you would expect with the subject matter, 'The Zone of Interest' makes for uncomfortable but important viewing. Sandra Hüller has relatively little to work with, though still manages to put in a standout showing. I remember seeing her about during the award season when this movie was released, based on this I am expecting an even better performance in 'Anatomy of a Fall' - gotta get that watched soon!

So much potential but very disappointing.