Zone of Interest plunges the viewer into the profoundly cruel Auschwitz extermination camp through the paradoxically pleasant and picturesque life of the camp leader's family, whose house is located opposite the camp.

 

The family's life is presented from the outside. The shots are surprisingly far from the actors' faces, the scenes are shot simultaneously, placing the spectator in the position of an anthropologist observing the social and hierarchical dynamics of this microcosm with a disturbing sense of curiosity. They eat, sleep, behave like any other family would do but their relationships are characterized by a deep void – an absence of meaning transcribed in the actors play. The scrupulous analysis made by the spectator is interrupted by shrill noises, cut scenes and saturated colours, reminding us of the atrocities taking place simultaneously but hidden from view. 

 

The presence (or absence of presence) of the victims is only indirectly evoked, as if they existed only in the realm of abstraction. The smoke and fire at night, the contamination of the lake water and the sudden, distant screams evoke the atrocities committed against the victims. The only time the victims are 'heard' is when the young teenager plays a piano score and the subtitles express the deep trauma and fear associated with the events unfolding.

 

The gap between the family's quiet, pleasant life and the genocide committed is bridged by the emptiness of the characters' relationships - all of which creates a sudden sense of disgust that grips them intensely. This feeling is brilliantly conveyed to the spectator, not least by the disturbing soundtrack. When I listened to the soundtrack during the end credits, I felt the urge to leave the theatre as if I were experiencing nausea. The overall oppressive atmosphere created in this film places the viewer in an uncomfortable space, the same space the Nazi officer was in when he descended the stairs for the final scene. 

 

The transmission of such a sensation establishes a transitive relationship between the characters and the spectator, as if they were similar in their profound nature. This conveys the message of the film: the human capacity to normalise the worst atrocities, and therefore its capacity to be complicit in unimaginable crimes which transcends the context of the Second World War.