The Zone of Interest (2023)
Figures
Form & technique
- The film's constant background soundscape from the camp (screams, gunshots, machinery). → The Unseen Voice
- The film's static, multi-camera cinematography that observes characters from a distance. → The Invisible Watchtower
- The monochromatic, thermal-camera-like sequences of the Polish girl hiding food. → The Piercing Detail
- The film's narrative structure compared to the Martin Amis novel.
- The final sequence cutting between Höss retching and modern-day cleaners at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.
- The non-diegetic musical score by Mica Levi, especially the opening and closing overtures.
Tropes
- Hedwig Höss's management of the household and garden. → The Banality of Evil
- The formal strategy of refusing to show atrocities inside the camp.
- The wall separating the Höss family's garden from the Auschwitz camp. → The Counter-Space
- Rudolf Höss's late-night phone calls and meetings discussing furnace efficiency.
- The lipstick discovered by Hedwig in a fur coat belonging to a Jewish woman. → The Commodity Fetish
- Rudolf Höss's interactions with his family, particularly his horse-riding and authoritative demeanor. → The Fragile Alpha
Films most connected to The Zone of Interest
- The Florida Project (2017) — via The Unseen Voice, The Piercing Detail, The Counter-Space
- Amores Perros (2000) — via The Fragile Alpha, The Piercing Detail, The Counter-Space
- Unforgiven (1992) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Fragile Alpha, The Invisible Watchtower
- The Shape of Water (2017) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Unseen Voice, The Counter-Space
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) — via The Unseen Voice, The Fragile Alpha, The Counter-Space
- Timbuktu (2014) — via The Counter-Space, The Banality of Evil
- Brazil (1985) — via The Invisible Watchtower, The Counter-Space
- Barton Fink (1991) — via The Commodity Fetish, The Banality of Evil