Something i found interesting is that the baby and dog are seen constantly crying, whimpering & whining trying to get the adults attention but are ignored in every instance.
the girl is actually a polish young girl who is part of the Resistance by sending apples to people in the camps. The director actually discovered her story through research so she did exist!!
I think Sandra Hüller is searching the lining of the coat looking for gemstones as the prisoners often hid valuables in linings and hemlines of clothing.
Of course, it was well known that new camp arrivals would secrete valuables in the hem lines and seams of garments - among other places - and those charged with inspecting and sorting the luggage that belonged to the incoming knew exactly where to look. The curious thing is that though Hedwig's "new" fur coat didn't contain jewelry in the hems, she did find a tube of lipstick in the pocket. That would have been easily discovered had the coat been inspected in the routine manner, but apparently it had not been. This leads me to assume any high end item selected to go the Hoess household was simply plucked, bagged and sent on regardless whether or not it had been fully examined.
Some things I noticed in this film: First the baby was always crying. I think that was very purposeful to show how the baby is aware of the noise, screams, and gunshots and hasn't regarded them as background noise the way the rest of the family has. The baby hasn't been brainwashed into normalizing this life yet and therefore reacts this way. Very powerful. I also think the dog was used to parallel the constant dog barking we hear from the camp, to show how like the people we are watching this dog is just going along with its life the way the family is, whereas the dogs we hear behind the fence barking are doing the same job as the SS. One another thing, I think the sequence of the people cleaning the museum was shown that way to make the viewer think "Wow how can you just go about your job surrounded by such horror" It is the same question you as the viewer ask yourself about the family. Everything is very intentional and purposeful in this film and that's why I think it's so brilliant and powerful
I noticed that too about the baby - it did cry a lot - in virtually every scene it was in. But I also noticed there was the occasional sound of babies crying coming from over the fence as well. Just as you point out the sound of the Hoess's pet dog occasionally barking, we also hear barking dogs and crying babies on the other side of the fence - presumably to set up an audio counterpoint. Hard to know whether the Hoess infant was truly disturbed by the sounds it heard - an interesting idea, by the way - or if it was an infant crying due to the usual discomforts an infant experiences: wet diapers, teething pain, hunger, etc. What we do know: whatever the infants on the other side of the fence were crying about, we certainly know it wasn't due to the usual discomforts.
Just left the film. Came back to y’all’s review. Did y’all notice when the boys were playing in the garden, the older boy locked the younger one in the green house and started making a “spraying” noise. Like he was gassing him. That was crazy!
At the start of the film, the younger boy is really into playing with soldiers but by the end he’s not doing that so much, and seems affected by what he hears and sees of the camp from his bedroom window. The older brother has been fully indoctrinated but I felt there was hope that the younger brother hadn’t.
It just reminds me how humanity is one step away from inhumanity. Whether you are on the Left or Right, Red or Blue... how a person can dehumanize "them or the other side" to the point where their annihilation is "normalized." Its scary because it happened and it still could especially if we arent self aware enough to get out of our echo chambers.
At the same time, the actions of the polish servant girl who risked her life to sneak food to the prisoners shows that people are capable of being brave and doing the right thing even when everything in their environment and everyone else around them tells them to do otherwise. Which makes it even harder to excuse people who are cowardly or give into their worst impulses just because “everyone else was doing it”
I'm on winter break. I am going through a lot in life at the moment. Jelly Fish review marathon the last two days has help me a lot. I really enjoyed your guys Q&A. Im also going to listen to your podcast. I can hear you guys all day. Thank you guys for helping me in a rough time in my life.
I saw this film a week ago and I have not been able to get it out of my head. Haunting and, at times, horrific. Sound design was important element. Brilliant filmaking
Yes history repeats herself. Jewish people the absolute minority (0.09% of the world population) which are the indigenous people of Israel is getting violently attached again.
Omg! That girl who finds the sheet music … I sang in a concert of “Music from the Holocaust” so there’s a whole thing about this book of music held in secret and passed along to artists. They passed their composition to the survivors… interesting that they include that aspect of the life of the Holocaust. I can’t wait to see this. I was always aware of the families of the employees so to speak of the concentration camps, and that they were situated in very comfortable homes right alongside the camps.
A few notes, the Hedwig's hair in the braids seems to me to symbolize many things, a buttoned uptight nature, it's also very practical and controlled. There is also something most childlike about it from today's POV, it's a style a little girl would wear, like she wants to project her innocence. The dog immediately made me think of its sense of smell and how it must be deeply affected 1000x moreso than the humans, and it's seeking affection bc it knows something fucked up is happening around them. As for the ending, he wretches but doesn't actually vomit. It's the first sign of his potential humanity, he wants to purge himself, but he just can't. Then the janitors are essentially cleaning up his mess. They are preserving his legacy of horror by cleaning a place made important and solemn that he treated as irrelevant.
@@yvonneplant9434the Nazis very intentionally presented themselves as stylish and perfectly neat so there is a reason those types of hairstyles were popular. I don’t think an ordinary working class German woman would have done such a bold hairstyle either
This film was so disturbing. It’s horrific because the horror is on the sidelines and what you don’t see. Also Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech is so relevant
I was hoping you were reviewing this one. I can’t wait to see this in theaters. What a story. I’m half dreading it … just watching Hüller trying on that fur coat sends shivers down my spine and that’s just from the preview!
The girl in night vision speaks Yiddish so is seemingly one of the Jewish servants working in the house, putting apples out for the prisoners in the camp who are being forced to dig
@@intrusive-th0tBut was that Polish girl a servant in the house? And the wife never said they wouldn’t allow Jews in the house. At least one of the servants definitely was.
@kurtrivero368 the house servant was a Jew and the person putting the apples was a local girl. The line in reference to no jews being in the house was in response to the grandmother thinking the local girls playing with the family's children were jews. When she's saying no jews in the house she's referring to jews being allowed freely to live/play with their children and not no jews in some form of service role.
@@ryanfliegelman3166 no, they used local Polish girls as servants… the Jewish prisoners worked outside the house. Poles were subject to extermination under the Generalplan Ost but were more useful for labor. They never would have allowed a Jew to work in the house. If she was Jewish she would have had a yellow star on her clothes like the other prisoners.
The wife searched the lining looking for hidden jewels, jewelry, etc. It’s been documented that many Jews would hide them in the lining of their coats, in case they were rounded up and/or suddenly had to leave home because they weren’t allowed to leave Germany with any valuables but clothes (and then the clothes were confiscated once at the camp but they didn’t know that would happen :(
The family dog juxtaposes the dogs in Auschwitz that were trained to attack and kill prisoners. You can hear the dogs barking throughout the movie. That is how I interpreted the significance of the family dog being in almost all of the scenes.
It's a masterpiece that left me speechless. I didn't understand the choice of using digital at first, but it was an artistic choice that got explained by the end. Glazer literally brought the Holocaust into current times by making it look modern - telling that we should never leave it in history to prevent it from ever happening again. Not an easy film to watch, but an extremely important work of art.
Hey! From Sri Lanka. You two are one of the few movie critics whose opinion I don't have to take with a grain of salt. So many ones have gone to shit over the years. Thanks for the honest commentary.
This movie just came to my city and just finished it. I thought the family dog was in the scenes to contrast the barking dogs inside the camp itself, but the family dog didn’t react to the barking, seemingly as oblivious to what was going on as the family itself.
to me the ending felt like Hoss looking towards the future and seeing whose remembered. It’s not him, it’s not even the Nazi’s but the Jewish people they killed. While yes, Nazi’s are remembered it’s not in the light that they were striving for. When we talk about Nazi’s its disparaging, we speak about them with malice. Yet the Jewish people are revered, we remember those who had an injustice committed against them. That was what I thought the film was going for, but I could see how that could also be wrong
I just found you two and I am so glad I did. Kudos to both of you for your incredible research and analysis! Btw, I do 40s style and Hedwig's hair was hideous!!!
just watched it tonight - been looking at a lot of reviews here on yt - THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE DOG! even though me and my friend thought the dog represented the ,,Gräuel, das halt überall mitläuft!'' as in a shadow that is always attached to you, always following you around, always reminding you of the reality you try to supress, please let me know what you think about this in the comments ^ ^
Wonder if Glazer was inspired by “The Act of Killing”. Much like you described Commendant wrenching and vomiting in the hallway very similar to the end of The Act of Killing, where one of the war criminals begins violently wretched after remaking scenes of previously killing civilians.
This morning this movie was nominated for some Golden Globes. I'm excited to see this important film. It will be interesting to see how well it does with Oscar voters.
2024 - Just saw this film. Who watched this and can acknowledge that there was something so abnormal about the Höss children. For a supposed idyllic setting those children were so bizarre. It was very unsettling to see the children act so creepily.
I haven’t read the other comments yet so maybe it’s been mentioned, but I think it’s worth noting the callousness of the older brother. Between playing with the teeth and locking the younger brother in the greenhouse, he has clearly become desensitized by his environment. The younger brother is often seen playing by himself and on his own much like the dog. The dog I think is a visual representation of the coldness inside the home (the way it is ignored), and the anxiety outside the home (the way it’s trotting by in almost every scene but with nowhere to go but trapped within the walls of the home/garden). So, even though their home is looked at as a paradise with the lush garden and swimming pool, everyone inside the walls of this property is miserable, and the extermination of the Jews was never going to fix that. As always, I immediately came straight to Fish Jelly as soon as the credits started rolling. Great job guys ❤
You hated Sandra‘s hair? What about the commandant the actor when interviewed somewhere said” I spent two Christmases with that charming hairdo” or something to that effect
I thought the over exposure sequences with the girl were of the older daughter sneaking out at night, leaving apples for the people forced to work outside of the camp as she leaves them just behind each shovel.
I think she's a girl living in the town because she gets home to a small, old-fashioned house and the mother is watching the fires a little distance away 😊.
I think it takes seeing this movie a couple of times to really feel it. Like you said the sound of this movie was so masterful! ( it won a academy award) well deserved! This movie was extremely hard for me to watch, my family was in Auschwitz, they were polish, and survived, but such horrible things happened to them, just horrific!
This house was the house of a Polish army sergeant (he went to fight in the war), his family was forcibly evicted and their house and belongings were taken away by the Nazis, they were probably murdered in the camp. Today, people living in this house and the surrounding buildings include employees of the museum in Oświęcim (employees, guides, administration workers)
Her mother said F THIS!! IM OUT!! Got in the first thing smoking. Hedwig was so pissed, her mother must’ve told her about herself in that letter cause she burned it after!!
Great review from you two, this sounds like an important film. From Google, re the symbolism of the ubiquitous Black Dog, one interpretation: "Many people believe that black dogs are the watchdogs of the other world, which is why they are considered to be a link to the afterlife and the departed. In a lot of different cultures, there are some animals that are supposed to watch over the boundary between the realm of the living and the world of the dead".
**SPOILERS** I think the ending, time shifting to the present day museum, shows that Rudolf (in a strange metaphorical sense) had a small realization of the atrocities he was doing and "saw" the aftermath of the Holocaust that it eventually led him to "feel" which is why I guess he was almost throwing up but he didn't. Instead, he composed himself and continued walking down the dark staircase and continued on with the horrific actions after the film ends. The film made me feel so much and broke my heart but was also very well done and presented the Holocaust in a way we have never seen or experienced before.
The idea of hearing the terror instead of seeing it was really eerie, and although it was a very creative perspective, I thought this film definitely would've fit better in a short film timeframe. I was shocked to see this nominated for Best Picture
7:10 Makes me think of the post I just saw the other day of a girl bragging about her idf soldier boyfriend bringing her ‘gifts from gaza.’ It was makeup.
The girls leaving the food for inmates is a real person. Her name was Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk and she was a Polish girl working in the Polish anti-german resistance (why would she be German? Auschwitz was in occupied Poland…).
Just saw that this movie was nominated for best film so curious what is was about. Thank you for great review. Not sure if I want to see this disturbing film so thank you.
Haven’t seen the film yet. Does anyone know- is the house adjacent to Auschwitz I or II- Birkenau? Hope the film comes out in more than one theatre in Toronto..
The house is right next to Auschwitz I. Right next to the wall that surrounds A. I. You can see the "barrocks" of it and the tower with " staff" manning it.
The family name is pronounced “hearse” not “hoss”. There is an umlaut on the “o”. Sorry to be pedantic, but it is important, as there are other SS criminals with similar sounding names. It can lead to confusion.
People don't learn, sadly. Doesn't matter what race or culture or religion people are, they will use mental gymnastics to justify what they're doing so they can keep their comfortable lives. Pretty much all humans do it.
@@yvonneplant9434 based on what? a fictional ancient book? that land was called Palestine resident by Palestinians who were/are muslims christians jews living peacefully, there was no single ethnic identity apartheid regime called Israel 70 years ago.
What glazer shows us is the same In under the skin. Human beings are capable of good and evil. As evil and hateful the main characters are, they do care for their children, their home, they respect and love nature and the growth of plants. Of course this is meant to anger us when watching the movie but just like under the skin.. Laura experiences both humans helping her one second then the next one human tries to forcefully have sex with her. How do we resolve this? In both under skin and “zone” .. the answer is we can’t. And that’s the horror of it. Beauty and evil both existing in one place. The film then asks what the perpetrators did was horrendous… but is displaying and hanging up these atrocities is a museum to take pictures attributing to it?
When Joseph describes the scene where the commandant comes home and he rinses the blood off his boots - “and he just does it, like it was nothing.” I could tell Joseph was bothered by that moment in the film based on his reaction. The movie seems to be about the bliss of evil.
Just the 'emotional rollercoaster ride effect it had on me...and that's just from the 'nuggets' of the *unseen* than what's *on screen* that both of you so, uhm 'delicately' put forward! Excellent comments, that made me "recheck" what the Holocaust was all about, to reconfirm (🤨?) that History.
Yea A24’s theatrical distribution is always weird as fuck which sucks. But this will be in more theaters in a few weeks/early January for its wider release.
10/10.....Saw this last night. Great Film, my favorite of '23 but especially with everything going on with Israel/Palestine, I just couldn't help but think how ironic it is that Israel are currently acting like the Nazi's towards the people of Gaza.
*Thank you* thank you thank you! I have been scrolling for a few minutes in a few different “Zone of Interest” yt vids for a comment like yours. If I may, I’d like to share Truthout’s most recent podcast episode released on January 18th. It’s a nonprofit news org and the episode centers around Palestine. I’m on minute 16 and what I’ve gathered thus far is this: western imperialists (America and Britain) groomed zionists in their image. Israelis were the oppressed and are now the oppressors. Israelis have also killed Israeli hostages and soldiers with their own friendly fire 😓
@@maayansorani The Israelis are responding to a terrorist attack. They have been so subjected ever since 1948. Palestine is already free. Its government has rejected every single peace initiative, including one where they were given everything they want--except for one. The Jews just won't go away.
I think a black dog symbolizes depression. Winston Churchill said he always had a "black dog" with him. "Churchill knew it and named it his “black dog”, following Samuel Johnson (who, like many great men, suffered from the great disease of manic-depression)."
Cringe. What is it with woke people and applying colonialism/genocide into everything? Do you know about why Israel became a state in the first place? Do you know that muslim countries displaced jews to begin with? Do you know that hamas fired on a peace festival in Israel?
For me, the dog stood out as the only character who was anxious/freaked out by the chaos and noise surrounding the house.
The wife's mother couldn't take it either.
The baby was also crying during almost the whole film
Something i found interesting is that the baby and dog are seen constantly crying, whimpering & whining trying to get the adults attention but are ignored in every instance.
I’m sure I read somewhere that dog is actually sandra hullers dog
@@Gloria10828you are correct
the girl is actually a polish young girl who is part of the Resistance by sending apples to people in the camps. The director actually discovered her story through research so she did exist!!
Wow. I didn't know that.
cool info thank you
I think Sandra Hüller is searching the lining of the coat looking for gemstones as the prisoners often hid valuables in linings and hemlines of clothing.
That's what I thought too
Right! And also, another woman comments on how she found a diamond inside a toothpaste, so she ordered more.
Of course, it was well known that new camp arrivals would secrete valuables in the hem lines and seams of garments - among other places - and those charged with inspecting and sorting the luggage that belonged to the incoming knew exactly where to look. The curious thing is that though Hedwig's "new" fur coat didn't contain jewelry in the hems, she did find a tube of lipstick in the pocket. That would have been easily discovered had the coat been inspected in the routine manner, but apparently it had not been. This leads me to assume any high end item selected to go the Hoess household was simply plucked, bagged and sent on regardless whether or not it had been fully examined.
yes
Some things I noticed in this film: First the baby was always crying. I think that was very purposeful to show how the baby is aware of the noise, screams, and gunshots and hasn't regarded them as background noise the way the rest of the family has. The baby hasn't been brainwashed into normalizing this life yet and therefore reacts this way. Very powerful. I also think the dog was used to parallel the constant dog barking we hear from the camp, to show how like the people we are watching this dog is just going along with its life the way the family is, whereas the dogs we hear behind the fence barking are doing the same job as the SS. One another thing, I think the sequence of the people cleaning the museum was shown that way to make the viewer think "Wow how can you just go about your job surrounded by such horror" It is the same question you as the viewer ask yourself about the family. Everything is very intentional and purposeful in this film and that's why I think it's so brilliant and powerful
I noticed that too about the baby - it did cry a lot - in virtually every scene it was in. But I also noticed there was the occasional sound of babies crying coming from over the fence as well. Just as you point out the sound of the Hoess's pet dog occasionally barking, we also hear barking dogs and crying babies on the other side of the fence - presumably to set up an audio counterpoint. Hard to know whether the Hoess infant was truly disturbed by the sounds it heard - an interesting idea, by the way - or if it was an infant crying due to the usual discomforts an infant experiences: wet diapers, teething pain, hunger, etc. What we do know: whatever the infants on the other side of the fence were crying about, we certainly know it wasn't due to the usual discomforts.
I thought the same thing about the ladies at the end.
Babies aren't aware of their surroundings in that way. Babies can only get their needs met by crying
The baby and the dog are the only creatures aware of the horror. Imagine with the dog’s sense of smell what hell it was in .
Just left the film. Came back to y’all’s review. Did y’all notice when the boys were playing in the garden, the older boy locked the younger one in the green house and started making a “spraying” noise. Like he was gassing him. That was crazy!
Yes 😳
At the start of the film, the younger boy is really into playing with soldiers but by the end he’s not doing that so much, and seems affected by what he hears and sees of the camp from his bedroom window. The older brother has been fully indoctrinated but I felt there was hope that the younger brother hadn’t.
@@louisacoote2337 yes!!!
I don't want to give anything away but what Hedwig says so casually to the housemaid towards the end really made an impact on me.
It just reminds me how humanity is one step away from inhumanity. Whether you are on the Left or Right, Red or Blue... how a person can dehumanize "them or the other side" to the point where their annihilation is "normalized." Its scary because it happened and it still could especially if we arent self aware enough to get out of our echo chambers.
No truer word spoken
It is happening right now.
@@Bozemannnyep
It is happening. You just proved your own point.
At the same time, the actions of the polish servant girl who risked her life to sneak food to the prisoners shows that people are capable of being brave and doing the right thing even when everything in their environment and everyone else around them tells them to do otherwise. Which makes it even harder to excuse people who are cowardly or give into their worst impulses just because “everyone else was doing it”
Great review! The baby that was always crying knew that her mother's hair wasn't the only evil thing in that house!
Nick, fun fact: the dog in the film is Sandra Holler’s own pet Weimaraner 😊
💀That dog is a good actor/actress🎉
I'm on winter break. I am going through a lot in life at the moment. Jelly Fish review marathon the last two days has help me a lot. I really enjoyed your guys Q&A. Im also going to listen to your podcast. I can hear you guys all day. Thank you guys for helping me in a rough time in my life.
I saw this film a week ago and I have not been able to get it out of my head. Haunting and, at times, horrific. Sound design was important element. Brilliant filmaking
Sad to see history repeating itself. Humans learned nothing. 😔
Yeah Hamas are awful :(
@@jM-ms8lh you spelled Israel wrong, my love
@@minoruミノル九Disgusting comment.
@@jM-ms8lhyou proved the point. Thanks
Yes history repeats herself. Jewish people the absolute minority (0.09% of the world population) which are the indigenous people of Israel is getting violently attached again.
Omg! That girl who finds the sheet music … I sang in a concert of “Music from the Holocaust” so there’s a whole thing about this book of music held in secret and passed along to artists. They passed their composition to the survivors… interesting that they include that aspect of the life of the Holocaust. I can’t wait to see this. I was always aware of the families of the employees so to speak of the concentration camps, and that they were situated in very comfortable homes right alongside the camps.
A few notes, the Hedwig's hair in the braids seems to me to symbolize many things, a buttoned uptight nature, it's also very practical and controlled. There is also something most childlike about it from today's POV, it's a style a little girl would wear, like she wants to project her innocence.
The dog immediately made me think of its sense of smell and how it must be deeply affected 1000x moreso than the humans, and it's seeking affection bc it knows something fucked up is happening around them.
As for the ending, he wretches but doesn't actually vomit. It's the first sign of his potential humanity, he wants to purge himself, but he just can't. Then the janitors are essentially cleaning up his mess. They are preserving his legacy of horror by cleaning a place made important and solemn that he treated as irrelevant.
It was just a typical German frau hairdo of the times. Doubt it was meant to be symbolic.
The retching scene reminded me of the documentary The Act of Killing, which interviewed Indonesian genocide leaders and had a very similar ending
@@yvonneplant9434the Nazis very intentionally presented themselves as stylish and perfectly neat so there is a reason those types of hairstyles were popular. I don’t think an ordinary working class German woman would have done such a bold hairstyle either
He obviously had gut problems - IBS maybe caused by stress…
People hid their jewelry and valuables in the lining of their coats. She was checking the lining for valuables.
Thanks. I was just about to say this.
This film was so disturbing. It’s horrific because the horror is on the sidelines and what you don’t see. Also Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar speech is so relevant
I was hoping you were reviewing this one. I can’t wait to see this in theaters. What a story. I’m half dreading it … just watching Hüller trying on that fur coat sends shivers down my spine and that’s just from the preview!
By far the best review of this film on TH-cam . Nick has such in-depth knowledge on the films they review and always excellent analysis. ❤
Nick seems like a dope ass person to have a convo with. I’m a huge movie buff but homie is on another level
The girl in night vision speaks Yiddish so is seemingly one of the Jewish servants working in the house, putting apples out for the prisoners in the camp who are being forced to dig
Not jewish, she is a local polish girl. The commander’s wife said they wouldn’t allow jews in the house.
@@intrusive-th0tBut was that Polish girl a servant in the house? And the wife never said they wouldn’t allow Jews in the house. At least one of the servants definitely was.
@kurtrivero368 the house servant was a Jew and the person putting the apples was a local girl. The line in reference to no jews being in the house was in response to the grandmother thinking the local girls playing with the family's children were jews. When she's saying no jews in the house she's referring to jews being allowed freely to live/play with their children and not no jews in some form of service role.
@@ryanfliegelman3166 no, they used local Polish girls as servants… the Jewish prisoners worked outside the house. Poles were subject to extermination under the Generalplan Ost but were more useful for labor. They never would have allowed a Jew to work in the house. If she was Jewish she would have had a yellow star on her clothes like the other prisoners.
this is a local Polish girl, as far as I know, the director met her personally and her story was shown in the film
The wife searched the lining looking for hidden jewels, jewelry, etc. It’s been documented that many Jews would hide them in the lining of their coats, in case they were rounded up and/or suddenly had to leave home because they weren’t allowed to leave Germany with any valuables but clothes (and then the clothes were confiscated once at the camp but they didn’t know that would happen :(
The family dog juxtaposes the dogs in Auschwitz that were trained to attack and kill prisoners. You can hear the dogs barking throughout the movie. That is how I interpreted the significance of the family dog being in almost all of the scenes.
The dog would be disturbed by the other dogs, unlike the humans, who could avoid being disturbed
Same thing with the use of the baby crying serving as a reminder of all the babies being murdered next door. Gave me chills
Best discussion of the zone of interest I’ve seen on TH-cam! You two are fantastic! Very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. Instant sub!
It's a masterpiece that left me speechless. I didn't understand the choice of using digital at first, but it was an artistic choice that got explained by the end. Glazer literally brought the Holocaust into current times by making it look modern - telling that we should never leave it in history to prevent it from ever happening again.
Not an easy film to watch, but an extremely important work of art.
Hey! From Sri Lanka. You two are one of the few movie critics whose opinion I don't have to take with a grain of salt. So many ones have gone to shit over the years. Thanks for the honest commentary.
This movie just came to my city and just finished it. I thought the family dog was in the scenes to contrast the barking dogs inside the camp itself, but the family dog didn’t react to the barking, seemingly as oblivious to what was going on as the family itself.
to me the ending felt like Hoss looking towards the future and seeing whose remembered. It’s not him, it’s not even the Nazi’s but the Jewish people they killed. While yes, Nazi’s are remembered it’s not in the light that they were striving for. When we talk about Nazi’s its disparaging, we speak about them with malice. Yet the Jewish people are revered, we remember those who had an injustice committed against them. That was what I thought the film was going for, but I could see how that could also be wrong
I'm a simple man. I will watch anything that A24 produces. They are such a breath of fresh air in an age of marvel and remake crap
I just found you two and I am so glad I did. Kudos to both of you for your incredible research and analysis! Btw, I do 40s style and Hedwig's hair was hideous!!!
just watched it tonight - been looking at a lot of reviews here on yt - THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE DOG! even though me and my friend thought the dog represented the ,,Gräuel, das halt überall mitläuft!'' as in a shadow that is always attached to you, always following you around, always reminding you of the reality you try to supress, please let me know what you think about this in the comments ^ ^
Wonder if Glazer was inspired by “The Act of Killing”. Much like you described Commendant wrenching and vomiting in the hallway very similar to the end of The Act of Killing, where one of the war criminals begins violently wretched after remaking scenes of previously killing civilians.
I just saw the Zone of Interest, and found it to be masterful, thought provoking, and honest. A high recommendation and thank you gentlemen.
enjoyed hearing yall talk about this. cant get it out of my mind.
Even though spoilers I can't wait to here their take. My new favorite movie reviewers ❤
This morning this movie was nominated for some Golden Globes. I'm excited to see this important film. It will be interesting to see how well it does with Oscar voters.
I do t usually go for these movies but now I can’t wait to see this. Thank you both!
2024 - Just saw this film. Who watched this and can acknowledge that there was something so abnormal about the Höss children. For a supposed idyllic setting those children were so bizarre. It was very unsettling to see the children act so creepily.
Best review of the dozens I've seen.
I haven’t read the other comments yet so maybe it’s been mentioned, but I think it’s worth noting the callousness of the older brother. Between playing with the teeth and locking the younger brother in the greenhouse, he has clearly become desensitized by his environment. The younger brother is often seen playing by himself and on his own much like the dog. The dog I think is a visual representation of the coldness inside the home (the way it is ignored), and the anxiety outside the home (the way it’s trotting by in almost every scene but with nowhere to go but trapped within the walls of the home/garden). So, even though their home is looked at as a paradise with the lush garden and swimming pool, everyone inside the walls of this property is miserable, and the extermination of the Jews was never going to fix that. As always, I immediately came straight to Fish Jelly as soon as the credits started rolling. Great job guys ❤
This sounds like a really hard movie to watch. I don't know if I'll have the heart, I appreciate this review.
You hated Sandra‘s hair? What about the commandant the actor when interviewed somewhere said” I spent two Christmases with that charming hairdo” or something to that effect
I thought the over exposure sequences with the girl were of the older daughter sneaking out at night, leaving apples for the people forced to work outside of the camp as she leaves them just behind each shovel.
I think she's a girl living in the town because she gets home to a small, old-fashioned house and the mother is watching the fires a little distance away 😊.
I think it takes seeing this movie a couple of times to really feel it. Like you said the sound of this movie was so masterful! ( it won a academy award) well deserved! This movie was extremely hard for me to watch, my family was in Auschwitz, they were polish, and survived, but such horrible things happened to them, just horrific!
Great review guys! Thanks 🤙🏾
This house was the house of a Polish army sergeant (he went to fight in the war), his family was forcibly evicted and their house and belongings were taken away by the Nazis, they were probably murdered in the camp. Today, people living in this house and the surrounding buildings include employees of the museum in Oświęcim (employees, guides, administration workers)
i was gawking at the furniture and the architecture, production design team did a terrific job
Her mother said F THIS!! IM OUT!! Got in the first thing smoking. Hedwig was so pissed, her mother must’ve told her about herself in that letter cause she burned it after!!
Great review from you two, this sounds like an important film. From Google, re the symbolism of the ubiquitous Black Dog, one interpretation: "Many people believe that black dogs are the watchdogs of the other world, which is why they are considered to be a link to the afterlife and the departed. In a lot of different cultures, there are some animals that are supposed to watch over the boundary between the realm of the living and the world of the dead".
This is a very interesting take on the dog, which made me think of Cerberus, the hound of hell.
**SPOILERS**
I think the ending, time shifting to the present day museum, shows that Rudolf (in a strange metaphorical sense) had a small realization of the atrocities he was doing and "saw" the aftermath of the Holocaust that it eventually led him to "feel" which is why I guess he was almost throwing up but he didn't. Instead, he composed himself and continued walking down the dark staircase and continued on with the horrific actions after the film ends. The film made me feel so much and broke my heart but was also very well done and presented the Holocaust in a way we have never seen or experienced before.
The idea of hearing the terror instead of seeing it was really eerie, and although it was a very creative perspective, I thought this film definitely would've fit better in a short film timeframe. I was shocked to see this nominated for Best Picture
Movies like this are very disturbing because of how evil some people are/were.
That’s right …good job 🙄
It's more disturbing that apparently lots of young people think the Holocaust is a myth. No, I'm not kidding.
The villa was right next to Auschwitz I which was the oldest part of the Auschwitz complex.
Scariest part is when you realize how ordinary people were complicit in this atrocity. You are capable of great evil, as am I.
History is repeating itself in Gaza. Don’t look away. Don’t be complicit.
Just curious... what kept this from being a 5 out of 5?
7:10 Makes me think of the post I just saw the other day of a girl bragging about her idf soldier boyfriend bringing her ‘gifts from gaza.’ It was makeup.
The historical comparisons are stark and disturbing yes.
The girls leaving the food for inmates is a real person. Her name was Aleksandra Bystroń-Kołodziejczyk and she was a Polish girl working in the Polish anti-german resistance (why would she be German? Auschwitz was in occupied Poland…).
Just saw that this movie was nominated for best film so curious what is was about. Thank you for great review. Not sure if I want to see this disturbing film so thank you.
Haven’t seen the film yet. Does anyone know- is the house adjacent to Auschwitz I or II- Birkenau? Hope the film comes out in more than one theatre in Toronto..
The house is right next to Auschwitz I. Right next to the wall that surrounds A. I. You can see the "barrocks" of it and the tower with " staff" manning it.
My take on the epilogue was that it showed people coming face-to-face with the remnants and reminders of inhumanity but seeming unfazed by it.
Eerily similar ending to The Act of Killing with the perpetrator of genocide retching
Keep up the great work.
The family name is pronounced “hearse” not “hoss”. There is an umlaut on the “o”. Sorry to be pedantic, but it is important, as there are other SS criminals with similar sounding names. It can lead to confusion.
You would think people who gone through this would be the last to occupy and commit genocide
my thought exactly
People don't learn, sadly. Doesn't matter what race or culture or religion people are, they will use mental gymnastics to justify what they're doing so they can keep their comfortable lives. Pretty much all humans do it.
Israel isn't going anywhere. Jordan is the Palestinian state.
@@yvonneplant9434 based on what? a fictional ancient book? that land was called Palestine resident by Palestinians who were/are muslims christians jews living peacefully, there was no single ethnic identity apartheid regime called Israel 70 years ago.
Then you'll be glad to know they're not.
It's a local Polish girl planting the food for the workers who are forced labour in nearby areas. Based on a real life person
The thumbnail Nick looks the cat is on the kitchen counter again 😂
I want to watch it, but can’t find a screening near me!
This review has reminded me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Horrifying but very well made movie.
Kind of. This, however, is about real people.
Same
Yes, but that book is classified YA (Young Adult). This is like the sophisticated, terrifying, spare, arthouse version of that.
This! Similar themes with the proximity to the camp
I know nick is a member of the lafca and they spent all day Sunday voting and thus won best picture. I'd imagine nick was there and influenced things!
*this*
I like it more than Oppenheimer. Totally different approach compared to Son of Saul. Hopefully, it gets more recognition.
Leave the World Behind, soon?
It was the definition of ight
Wow sounds like I have to check out this director 🙂
What glazer shows us is the same In under the skin. Human beings are capable of good and evil. As evil and hateful the main characters are, they do care for their children, their home, they respect and love nature and the growth of plants. Of course this is meant to anger us when watching the movie but just like under the skin.. Laura experiences both humans helping her one second then the next one human tries to forcefully have sex with her. How do we resolve this? In both under skin and “zone” .. the answer is we can’t. And that’s the horror of it. Beauty and evil both existing in one place. The film then asks what the perpetrators did was horrendous… but is displaying and hanging up these atrocities is a museum to take pictures attributing to it?
When Joseph describes the scene where the commandant comes home and he rinses the blood off his boots - “and he just does it, like it was nothing.” I could tell Joseph was bothered by that moment in the film based on his reaction. The movie seems to be about the bliss of evil.
Just saw this movie. Eerie. Shocking. Disturbing
Just the 'emotional rollercoaster ride effect it had on me...and that's just from the 'nuggets' of the *unseen* than what's *on screen* that both of you so, uhm 'delicately' put forward! Excellent comments, that made me "recheck" what the Holocaust was all about, to reconfirm (🤨?) that History.
I can’t wait to watch this movie
Sadly this movie is hardy playing at any theatres
You need to make an effort to find one and see it
Yes, it's only limited release right now.
I did see the first trailer in a theater so I am still hoping I will get to see it in a theater.
Yea A24’s theatrical distribution is always weird as fuck which sucks. But this will be in more theaters in a few weeks/early January for its wider release.
@@tacosarethebest7377 Hopefully yes.
Please review Michael Haneke films!!!
10/10.....Saw this last night. Great Film, my favorite of '23 but especially with everything going on with Israel/Palestine, I just couldn't help but think how ironic it is that Israel are currently acting like the Nazi's towards the people of Gaza.
*Thank you* thank you thank you! I have been scrolling for a few minutes in a few different “Zone of Interest” yt vids for a comment like yours.
If I may, I’d like to share Truthout’s most recent podcast episode released on January 18th. It’s a nonprofit news org and the episode centers around Palestine. I’m on minute 16 and what I’ve gathered thus far is this: western imperialists (America and Britain) groomed zionists in their image. Israelis were the oppressed and are now the oppressors. Israelis have also killed Israeli hostages and soldiers with their own friendly fire 😓
@@crepusculo4ever You're a sicko.
Really? and how about hamas and other islamic countries that want to displace and murder Israelis/jews?
I still wouldn’t compare Israel to the Nazis
@@maayansorani The Israelis are responding to a terrorist attack. They have been so subjected ever since 1948. Palestine is already free. Its government has rejected every single peace initiative, including one where they were given everything they want--except for one. The Jews just won't go away.
incredibly slow, but i guess i understand its purpose.....
Thank you for your work. 🌈🌹🌷🏳️🌈
Nick I must say your beard looks very dapper and sexy 🤗
It's on Max right now everyone. Disturbing movie. Haven't stopped thinking about it for a week now.
I think a black dog symbolizes depression. Winston Churchill said he always had a "black dog" with him. "Churchill knew it and named it his “black dog”, following Samuel Johnson (who, like many great men, suffered from the great disease of manic-depression)."
HER hair? What about HIS?
Saw it today. I need a minute...
It is an enjoyable movie. But quite flat ans slow at times
Unfortunately It will be like that forever. 😕😕😕
in place of the concentration camp put gaza and in place of the beautiful house/garden put israel
Perfect analogy, free Palestine
BOO! HISS!
@@b0emyumyum28Jordan is the Palestinian state.
Cringe. What is it with woke people and applying colonialism/genocide into everything? Do you know about why Israel became a state in the first place? Do you know that muslim countries displaced jews to begin with? Do you know that hamas fired on a peace festival in Israel?
No that’s sick
Young polish girl.
please review under the skinnnnn
Dont