I’ve been watching your excellent postings/reviews for almost a decade, and I’m extremely entranced by your ‘Watchmen’ book, on your upper bookshelf, which NEVER moves. It just sort of sits there, not pulled out, not pushed in all the way. Does that poor little book have a life, outside of that tiny little spot, on your upper bookshelf? I’ve sort of grown attached to that little book, waiting for your next posting, when that book is maybe finally acknowledged.
I love your mechanism of life/revolving door example. Also, I like that you brought attention to the film's Kubrickian similarities, standards of kindness, and desensitization. Awesome review, thanks for the upload. 👌
Never been in more complete agreement with your take on a movie, really blew me away. I came across Under the Skin randomly on tv a few years ago and had no idea about it at all, and I came away with a similar kind of reaction. Going into this I knew nothing other than the same guy made it so I figured it would be interesting, but the clips made it seem largely like a family melodrama...it's just really jolting when a film completely confounds your expectations and shows you something you've never seen before. Truly moving and powerful stuff. I think the most shattering aspect of it all is his daughter, who is clearly deeply traumatized, but it's presented as you said in such a subtle and understated way that you almost miss it. Stunning.
Yes, as pathetic as this may sound, his love for the horse was the one thing that was relatable, indicating at least he could love something….Seemingly Hoss was devoted and loving to his children as well, as the wife was cold, detached and narcissistic….I sensed he recognized she was limited emotionally and picked up the slack by nurturing the children when he could to the best of his ability……Sadly, even the “best of his abilities” was not enough! One word, cold!
maybe cold doesn't cut it, as you mention he had warmth to horses, flowers and you see a nazi stroke a dog, cold to the jewish community, yes, it makes the whole thing even more bonkers! thanks for pointing it out. @@skyeblu1722
Finally saw this. Your review is pretty spot on. The way he went about the story is what makes this work. This is one of those movies you need to see at least once
It was my favorite film of the year as well. The most powerful film I've seen in a very, very long time. The constant background sounds were brilliant, in particular. Oh, and the fact that he's reading Hansel and Gretel, a story that ends with a woman being burned alive in an oven was chilling.
I love the design of their house and what's so conflicting is they are living beside all the horrors of that time. Us viewers have that same feeling as Hedwig's mother, we can admire what the house looks like but at the end of the day we couldn't stomach the stench and the murders because it's pure evil.
@@JJJJJVVVVVLLLLL Hedwig's mother simply leaves in the middle of the night If I recall correctly. There is a note that is left behind but Hedwig tears it up and throws it away.
For me the single most powerful moment in the movie was when he was dry heaving. Even though his mind didn't confront him with the horror of what he's done, his body eventually expressed how disgusting it was. But also the fact that nothing came out of him was symbolic of the moral emptiness in him.
Just saw this yesterday. I very much respect that it stayed true to its premise throughout. I especially was amazed by the restraint of the narrative. Even in the movie's final moments -- where powerful images were shown to the audience without going to the more visceral, horrific (perhaps expected) material that haunts us to this day -- it stayed the course. This movie was Hannah Arendt transferred into a work of art. Amazing.
I felt that 'restraint' itself became a gimmick, it ended up having the opposite effect it intended and became ironically MORE sensational in a way than the 'mainstream' cinematic language it seeks to subvert. Its commitment to the bit overpowered everything and it became not much more than a demonstration of just how 'restrained' or whatever it could be
@@helvete_ingres4717 Care to explain that nonsensical word salad? You sounded like someone who read a review where a paid critic mentioned ":mainstream cinematic language" (an overused phrase that means nothing) and repeated it in a failed effort to sound like Rex Reed's more hip cousin or something.
@@GizmoBeach it's quite self-explanatory, have you considered you're simply dumb and projecting rage at your own inadequacy towards random comments on TH-cam?
I saw this film a few times and was obsessed with it for about a week. One thing id like to add is that so many people find the last act when Rudolf goes away to be dull and lose steam but i think it perfectly captures the tide turning against the Germans in the war. The ending is incredible also, shocked to find so many ppl online hating it.
Exactly. As the Allied Powers advanced the Germans became more desperate to eradicate the evidence of their sickening genocide. Hence the mass deportations. And we see evidence of that tide turning in the radio report of a bombing raid killing Air Force recruits...I kept hoping troops would storm in and give those Nazis a taste of their evil but this was no sensationalist, Tarantino Revisionist History for Dummies Who Like a Happy but Silly Ending kind of film.
Rudolf's retching moments were the only clue that hidden somewhere behind that cool facade there was something resembling a real human being. This isn't the first Glazer film that's lingered in my imagination. "Birth" stuck with me for months.
I haven't seen it (yet) but you are 100% spot on. It's easy to sit here in 2024 in judgement and say, "I'd never be a Nazi!", but you've never been starving for food. You never had money that had no value. You've never had children who don't know where their next meal is coming from. There are no jobs, no unemployment benefits, there is literally nothing but despair not just for you but for everyone in the country. Your neighbors, your friends and family are all starving and dying. And then someone offers you food, a job, a beacon of hope. His speeches are inspiring and talk of rebuilding communities where all people have opportunities to provide for their families, to reverse the indignities borne of previous weak leadership, to participate in creating a strong, vibrant nation lasting 1,000 years. His promises soon become reality and food arrives in abundance and new jobs are created. You begin to feel proud of your hard work in the factories and your self-esteem slowly rises. You may not agree with everything the new leader espouses but isn't that what politicians do? Exaggerate in order to motivate? Besides, there is no one else to lead this once proud nation. And so, just like your neighbor, you join and now you are part of something bigger than yourself. Something strong and worthy and growing. And soon you begin to think, maybe our leader is right, maybe it is their fault and we would be better off without them here in our new nation. That moral part of you, that humanity, has been replaced, slowly over time, by something else you'd never considered before. And that's how it happens. Your desperation gets used against you. You know it's wrong but you can't stop it from happening.
I sort of disagree. If these were the soldiers in the front who have little control of the situation I would agree with your assessment. However these are educated people with some influence making active choices and benefiting financially from them ( like the wife enjoying the coats, jewelry etc from the camp). I like this film because often people are portrayed as evil all the time, but evil people can be “good” parents and not litter and keep a nice house. I will say as an appreciator of Bonhoeffer I do believe that people even in terrible situations do have choice. Many just go with the easier, more lucrative more let’s make a scapegoat option as justification.
I watched it in the cinema last Friday. And it was on my mind the whole weekend and will stay with me for a very long time. What a horrifying experience - as it should be. Masterfully done.
A masterful piece of cinema. I watched it a month ago and was haunted by the juxtaposition of events conveyed. Also, the sounds were innovative, subtle, and heartbreaking.
Really enjoyed listening to u talk about the film. I nearly fell asleep during my watching of the actual film tho. But hey, I finally seen all the best picture noms!
Great to hear your clear and well-worded movie reviews 👍! And agree, the power of it, is unwavering.. A unique aspect of this film, it that its impact lies in the knowledge and feelings of what each individual viewer has of that horrific period of our human history. If a viewer has very little, or no historical awareness or this period... think of how this movie would seem to them.
Hello. I haven't yet seen the film, or read Martin Amis's novel, but I wonder if the story was inspired by a 2011 documentary called "Hitler's Children", which documented the lives of several descendants of Nazi leaders. One of them was Rainer Hoess, the grandson of Rudolf Hoess, who has an old photograph of the garden bordering the camp, which he visits toward the end of the film. In any case, thank you for the insightful review.
I want to see this movie! However, I’ve recently been diagnosed with depression. My therapist suggested not to see it in the theater due to the immensity of the message. The polarizing aspects of this movie is brilliant! We all do this to some degree! Survival Thank you for this impeccable review!
Excellent review. This film is a true testament to Hannah Ardent's "The Banality of Evil," where everyday images are inseparable from violent actions. Many of the images in this film are so striking, like when Rudolf goes into the yard to smoke, and the lit cigarette contrasts with smoke bellowing from a furnace in the distance. It's an amazing film and easily one of the best cinematic experiences I've had in recent memory.
Bravo! Excellent work and analysis. I had to keep pausing, shadows everywhere, in the dialogue, spaces, relationships and tension. I want to see it again but can't bring myself to.
This film is a masterpiece. Its so complex to almost build another movie within just the sound aspect, but that its never acknowledged by the things you see.
Agree, Maggie and Mark Kermode could easily write film reviews for a major newspaper or magazine… they both are highly qualified and knowledgeable and passionate and insightful…
@@Vortexfilmclub I know. Such an odd thing to say. "Hey you shouldnt make movie reviews on the LARGEST MEDIA PLATFORM IN THE WORLD, come talk on my small podcast!"
I really liked your take on this film, which I agree is the best I have seen in the last year. To me, it’s the boldness and integrity of the choices Glazer makes - he strips away all artífice and conventional narrative devices. I loved the fact that he used the book as a starting point to do research on what really went on and get closer to that. I haven’t seen it 5 times (!) but I’ll give it another go, most likely.
Watched this movie on VOD a couple weeks ago. In my opinion this is easily the best directed movie of 2023. Everything about it is so METICULOUS from beginning to end. Glazer pretty much nailed it. This movie is pretty much the EPITOME of the following: "Happiness caused by suffering is NOT true happiness at all".
Wow, I'm very impressed that you've seen the film so many times and that you've dealt with the subject matter so deeply. We in Germany have basically been doing this since we were born and sometimes it's not that easy because the Holocaust has a completely different status here. Anyway, I really like the way you view films.
To me, I didn't feel like this film had much to offer beyond its initial message and theme. I feel like it could've been half the length and very little would've been affected in terms of what it was getting across. I don't want to be dismissive of a film with this kind of subject matter, but I felt like it ended up being less evocative than was intended
Maggie says early in the video about this being the second year in a row she sees her favorite film of the year after she releases her top 10 list. I can’t seem to remember, which one was her favorite last year?
So I absolutely hated Schiendler's list with it's shameless fabrication and gross emotional manipulation. Is this movie like an antidote to that sort of distorted Holocaust propaganda or just another presentation of the same?
I thought the film had one rather obvious observation on its mind, which was clearly stated within minutes, and after that it was just a couple of the most tedious hours I have ever spent in a movie theater.
Very good review, I'm glad you liked it, it was my favourite film of 2023. I cannot agree that Rudolph has no emotions though. Throughout the whole film you can see some signs of almost physiological reactions he has to a repressed reality. His stomach aches, underlying stress, and a final scene when he looks clearly at the prospect of his future legacy. He clearly has an idea about the scale of his atrocious actions, he compartmentalized those thoughts and emotions but his subconscious is hitting him hard in the last scenes. He chooses to remain a part of the mechanism of death and willingly descends down the dark corridor.
100%. You see especially in the scene where they were in the river. I love the symbolism of the tainted river even impacting his family. And I think it REALLY gets to him.
@@lockekappa500 Also, the scene where he's washing himself after the sexual intercourse - almost like a Pontius Pilate hand washing from responsibility. It clearly takes a toll on him.
The premise is genius. Reminds me of Life is Beautiful. My mother worked in a Japanese aircraft factory during the war. Although I'm sure she didn't approve of all the Japanese military did, she survived the war and married an American.
Having just returned after two weeks of visiting family 400 miles away this was the first film of 2024 for me that I hadn't seen before which would be considered "a new film" for this year although it was first released late December in the USA. Had other things on my "watch list" but deleted them so as to stay on budget this year and not spend precious retirement income on frivolities like movies etc. until further notice. Now that I've found new (and far less expensive) lodgings, I'm hyped to start catching up on what I've missed so far. And after seeing "Zone" it'll be tough to find something as impactful and gut-wrenching. I'm old enough to remember The Wannsee Conference (1984) when it was new but Zone feels more sinister w/o the viewer shown directly what's taking place beyond a facade of bucolic country life, even while it's just past that wall over yonder. Much like the conclusion of The House that Jack Built ("That's how deep the deepest Hell goes" as that high-pitch hum drones on) we see kids playing and women discussing trivial things and guests partying amidst a backdrop of gunshots, screams, wails. Like "It's over there, no worries." We also see a child play-acting what he's seen out his window w/ toy soldiers and the hausfrau casually mentioning she'd have her servant cremated and a gardener spreading ashes that we instantly recognize as human remains. I'm sure many have mentioned "the banality of evil" while writing their opinions of this film, but Glazer has captured that morbid phrase perfectly.
@@deepfocuslens Many people in the crew are Polish, as well. Łukasz Szał from Ida and Cold War was the cinematographer. I saw it at Cannes last year and rewatched it a few weeks ago. I think it's a failure. I rewatched it to see if I would change my mind, but sadly no. I was actually more irritated by certain factors (including the editing) the second time around. I don't think the form is rigorous enough and that Glazer is stuck on technicalities. To be honest, in Cannes, I started sighing as soon as I heard the opening music against the black background, signalling "important film incoming". I also find the ending quite cheap, and Levy's end music even more annoying in its attempt to conjure an immersive experience. I like the idea of the tools and clothes looking brand new, which goes against stereotypes of historical films, and it was interesting to hear the Polish costume designer address that issue at the press conference. I visited Auschwitz many years ago. I was sceptical and thought it would be like visiting any museum. Instead, it was one of the strongest moments in my life. In those days, the "guides" were former prisoners who talked objectively about what occurred. The walk along the train track between Auschwitz and Birkenau is one I will never forget, nor the sheer size of Birkenau. I always appreciate your thoughtful reviews, whether I agree with them or not.
In 1939 and during WWII about 25% of occupied Poland was annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration in Berlin, including the land of Auschwitz during its establishment and operation. The rest of Nazi-occupied Poland was a "General Government district." Thes annexed lands were meant (at murderous expense of others) to become permanently German. After the Soviet Union in 1945 took control over these territories (including the camp), the German population fled or was expelled, and the lands were taken from Germany and became part of the People's Republic of Poland, a Soviet bloc country until 1989.
My grandfather was interred in Stalag Luft IV during WW2. Based on his recollections, there were German guards that were not much better off than the prisoners, and they were "ok", and there were also total monsters (google "Big Stoop" for reference). There was definitely more of a "grey area" of morality in the POW camps than in the concentration camps, but the camps were all horrible.
I watched this last night. In my sixty-something years I’ve never had a movie have such an emotional impact on me. And here, the next day, the drip, drip, drip of of the mundane circling around horrors unseen, still lingers.
Sidenote (possibly it has been mentioned before): They lived in Poland/ occupied Poland. The place name is Oświęcim/ Auschwitz, with Auschwitz-Birkenau being the extermination camp.
Experiencing the movie through sound is not just a gimmick, it's denying us the visceral experience that we usually expect from these movies. The movie goes out of its way to deny us from experiencing the atrocities we can only hear in the distance. But at times I craved to see more, to view the scenes fully-realized. And I realize those cravings comes from a safe distance -- from the luxury of sitting in a movie theater 100 years beyond the historical time period that these events occurred. And at the same time we can understand the family's instinct to shut out and buffer themselves from the engaging in the destruction and depression around them. That dichotomy of wanting to see more, yet not, is so well explored in this film.
I just watched it yesterday. it was a lot to take in. Definitely a unique piece of filmmaking. The oscar for sound was well deserved. One of the things that stuck out to me is that even though this is a family living a 'normal' life, all of the kids are showing signs of distress. The dog as well who is always nervous, pacing, whining, not wanting to be left alone. So even though this is a normal life to the kids, their psyche knows that what they're living amongst is horrific, even if they can't consciously recognise that. The little girl falling asleep in odd places, or sitting in the dark, the baby constantly crying, the little boy watching from the window when a prisoner's punishment (murder) is ordered by his father. The little boy says don't do that again and quickly pulls his hand away and flicks the curtain back. The way he did that was really disturbing. The older son locking his little brother in the greenhouse laughing and making a hissing sound, to me shows that he is now old enough to know what's going on and because of the environment he's in, he's following in his father's footsteps. The family is seemingly unaffected, yet intensely affected at the same time
Great film. I saw it in theater and was struck by the soundscape design. Obviously I was struck by everything else as well. I just think no one else has been talking about the soundscape.
Amazing review of an amazing film. Of course most wouldn't protest the nazis if one lived in germany at the time. Firstly, it was the way of life, normalized, so most didn't even think about it. Secondly, it was illegal, which was a strong incentive to not do anything even if you wanted. I think a good way of knowing if you'd be protesting the nazis (at least in your mind) is if you are protesting against our time's biggest injustice - namely the exploitation and killing of non-human animals. Most don't even think about it, or think about it for a moment and then goes on with life, perhaps buying a chicken sandwich. You said it quite tellingly yourself: "the moment I crack an egg, someone is dying of starvation." Yes, it's true that some human is dying of starvation, but it is also true that the moment you bought that egg, you finance the exploitation and killing of sentient beings.
Very powerful movie. While watching it I had this thought that we are all doing this right now to farm animals, living lives full of culinary pleasures and pretending very hard not to notice, each of us trying to bury the cognitive dissonance.
I remember watching it and the whole time I was completely entranced how chilling it was. Jonathan Glazer is such an interesting filmmaker and I loved ‘Under the Skin’
I disagree that the film portrays Rudolf as a psychopath or unable to feel connection. The conversation with his wife when they're in bed, remembering a trip to Italy, the care for his children, the concern when they get covered in ash flowing down the river - these are not the indifference of a psychopath or someone who feels no connection. Now he could be a psychopath pretending to be normal, but this is the case for just about any character in film - he mostly seems pretty normal. There is an increasing disconnection towards the end, where he's in Berlin away from his family and doesn't really fit in, spending his days discussing/planning mass murder, he's clearly very detached at the party, he's awake late at night, calling his wife in the middle of the night with no sense of how late it is, the wretching on the stairwell - the implication is not that he was born this way, that he was all along a psychopath, someone who feels no human connection, and he just found his niche. That's the whole point of the film, he was normal. He compartmentalises. The film is suggesting though, particularly toward the end, that you can't keep things like this compartmentalised and it is affecting him and he is becoming more detached.
what a beautiful review.The film has haunted me since i saw it. I find that it is particularly timely, the selective sensitivity that we show. Large scale atrocities happen in current time and we choose to ignore. The villains will not appear gros-plan with dramatic drums soundtrack. You listen to them on tv while making coffee
Same as you. I also made my top 10 list before seeing this one,and now that I have seen it three times already, I can say that this is not only the best movie of 2023 but also one of the best of the 21st century.
Fully agree, just left the cinema and read the imdb trivia, endlessly fascinating to see many details that seemed like speculation actually taking place + what an insane effort this production was. A true masterpiece, I hope this gets shown in German schools in the future instead of "Schindler's List". Le chambres rouges and Zone of Interest are so far my favourites of 2023.
Thanks to this review, I watched the movie, and wow what a great film. It is the best holocaust movie because it's not about the victims, it's not about the overtly evil perpetrators. It's about normal people psychologically ignoring atrocity, which is most of us today.
I suspected you would love this film as you share my love of Lynch movies, and the sound design reminded me strongly of Lynch, especially in how unsettling it was, while the visuals were more Kubrickian. I only saw this film after I thought I'd compiled my final list for 2023 (with a handful of 2022 films I saw last year), and I had to rework it. For what it's worth, here is my top fifteen (I haven't watched _Poor Things_ or _Anatomy of a Fall_ unfortunately): 1. The Zone of Interest 2. Past Lives 3. All of Us Strangers 4. The Unknown Country 5. Saltburn 6. The Holdovers 7. Oppenheimer 8. Killers of the Flower Moon 9. The Beasts 10. A Thousand and One 11. Skinamarink 12. Fallen Leaves 13. Talk to Me 14. Reality 15. May December
One of the rare films with sequences that felt incredibly "Lynchian" to me, which is a term that I think is generally overused. Cool that someone else felt similarly :)
Did Glazer actually struggle with interpreting this material or is that your interpretation? I never heard about that. Maybe he mentioned it in an interview or article i missed?
I did a presentation of the film in high school filmmaking class less than a month ago, and my teacher said to me that it is the only holocaust film that she thinks is responsible. The class loved it too. Other holocaust films I’d recommend are Night and Fog, Shoah, and The White Ribbon ( A pre holocaust exploration of the education of the generation that would eventually become the Nazis)
I've seen Kubrick's Shining adaptation pop up in more than a few reviews for The Zone Of Interest, as if it's some obvious cinematic inspiration - it is very much not. The truth is that the formal techniques used in The Shining (slow zooms, snap-zooms, POV shots, flowing Steadicam, cross-cutting, stylistic lighting, helicopter shots) are so far outside of Jonathan Glazer's visual language in Zone as he goes out of his way to avoid using these and other techniques. So, how exactly are these two similar? I mean, they're both creepy movies but by that logic I could compare Zone to The Babadook or Insidious (which is just as ridiculous as comparing it to The Shining). Even their temperaments are diametrically opposite; The Shining is dramatic and heavy-handed in everything it sets out to do* while The Zone Of Interest is undramatic, voyeuristic, observational and subtle. *I'm not saying this is a detriment, I'm a fan of everything Kubrick does in that movie, I'm just pointing it out for the sake of the comparison. I mean, for fuck's sake, the 'Kubrick Stare' became a meme for a reason, yet he's still regarded as this 'subtle' filmmaker. There's a huge gap between the movies people think Kubrick made and the movies he actually made - just as there's the myth and mystique of him as this elusive figure vs. the regular-ass Roseanne-loving dude he was (not to mention the persistent misconception that he abused Shelley Duvall, which she has explicitly debunked). The compositions are similar but, again, it would be an outright stretch to compare them. So what is this comparison to The Zone Of Interest based on, exactly? I think trying to unpack that lies probably somewhere in Rodney Ascher's Room 237 about the cumulative effect of how The Shining became a cultural black hole. Again, there's the misconception that Kubrick was a perfectionist, so when we have clear continuity errors they're blown out of proportion. Kubrick was more focused on performances than he was on chair placement but when you see him through the lens of an infallible genius, a chair moving from one part of the frame to another means 'secret ghosts.' Jonathan Glazer's movies have that air of mystique and perfectionism so maybe that's why the Kubrickian stereotype is laid upon him and his work...despite having nothing to do with The Shining.
One point of disagreement I have with your review is your claim that the protagonist is a psychopath. He may well be, but I don't think the film provides enough insight into his character to allow the audience to make this judgement. Perhaps this personal aspect is drawn out into further detail in the novel? I am not sure because I haven't read it.. However, if what you say is true, and it may well be, then it detracts from my favorite nuance of the movie: these are Nazis who aren't villains. Kinda refreshing... My friend pointed that out to me and I dug it. Normal people are quite capable of atrocities when their ideologies support murderous behavior. As a piece of art, I give it an 8/10. It's incredibly unique. There's a 'Where's Waldo' game going on that engaged me entirely throughout. But it never shifted for me. I felt like I was staring into a deep pool, trying to see something there, only to realize that the water was filtered and chlorinated, dyed a translucent blue, and the perfectly legible words written at the bottom read, 'The protagonist went to work. Then he went went to sleep. Then he went to work. Then he went to sleep. Then he opened a door. Then he went to work. Then to sleep. Then he opened a jar. Then he went to work.' The movie feels like a long road to nowhere to me. And I guess sometimes life feels that way too, but the truth is that death is always around the corner, and, for me, Glazer fails to capture death's profundity.
The Zone of Interest shook me to the core as it revels in unfathomable horror with sounds. Also doesn't offer Spielberg's ending. It forces one to face -- despite few happy endings there are millions more miserable stories we choose to ignore. EDIT: PS: Your reviews are spot on, always look forward to your videos. You may like one of the year's best 'All of us strangers'
I would love to hear your thoughts on Jonathan Glazer's Birth. It was pretty trashed when it came out. Nowadays it has a big following. I love so much about it but also find it baffling.
What do you think Hoss vomiting as he descended the stairs near the end of the movie was all about? To me, it seemed like he was maybe having pangs of guilt for what he was doing or nerves about his new job?
I saw it as "deep down he knows what he's doing is wrong" but he's basically killed his moral compass by this point so those pangs of guilt don't change him in any meaningful way. Also felt that the final sequence wasn't supposed to be taken as literally as what came before. It's in kind of a dreamy space out of time.
It definitely reminded me of Act of Killing, which apparently Glazer gave the cast to watch as homework. Spoiler: The end of that movie involves a man who participated in genocide becoming physically ill from his memories.
I think this movie is us, its us now, we are the Hoss's, when things get too horrible on the TV we turn it off. When our grandparents get old we wheel them into a concrete box and visit them once a week, we are ignoring the pain of others every day. WW2 the Brits bombed women and children in cities with the same ease and obliviousness as the Germans killed the Jews. So this is not far away from all humans - we are all the Hoss's. And if its not you, then it's the person next to you.
For someone as thorough and insightful as you are in your reviews, I find it curious given the timing of the release of this movie that you completely avoided any mention of a current event where many descendants of the ethno-group portrayed in this film are not only supporting the mass killing of civilians but also cheering it on. It’s really quite odd.
yeah but it's not just her but also other prominent American critics perhaps because it's a different discussion altogether? or a divisive and a longer one
@@sranzuline That's understandable. I guess I was expecting something to be said by her considering she saw it 5 times and it's her favorite of the year.
This is a very powerful, chilling movie. Would say it is the best Holocaust related film to come out in recent years along with the Hungarian film from 2015 'Son of Saul.' The contrast between the idyllic Höss home juxtaposed to what lies beyond the garden wall, where gunshots, shouting, and sounds of trains and furnaces are audible is the genuine horror of this movie. How anyone could witness the atrocities of Auschwitz or any other concentration camp and still be able to carry on with a so-called normal existence remains a mystery. This movie is the single best on-screen representation of this duality. And unlike the Holocaust movies we have become accustomed to over the years, there is no bloodshed, emaciated bodies, or acts of terror that are shown on camera. And yet it is convincing. The knowledge we have of the acts of torture being committed is enough to frighten and terrify us that we need not see them to get the full effect.
I thought sleep and awakening are central themes in this. The daughter couldnt sleep or was sleepwalking. The mom couldnt sleep due to the noises of burning and the smell of it, so she left. She seemed to be ok with all of it during the day but her sleep was bothered by it. The apple girl scenes are like a dream, yet in a way it feels like she's the only one who is awake, awake in a nightmare.
There is a genius moment in this movie (among others) where the editor do a fadi in to a pure white screen , it's like an alarm , Glazer snapping his fingers and saying " hey wake up, this thing happened, don't be INSIDE the movie, don't live it or enjoy it, just WATCH IT and keep your distance. " Plus this white screen makes the whole crowd in the cinema visible... like "guys be serious. " And if course the ashes used as fertilizer.............
Depends on what kind of film you like and what you legitimatly expect from a film in general. If you want to be entertained and feel good, this is absolutely not the film to watch. Seriously, don't put yourself through this, if a very quiet film, that explains nothing is not for you. Also, if sound is not something that rocks your boat, this film will completely fail to impress you. Another reviewer said: this is less a film and more of an expericence, and not a nice experience at that. Some commenters say this film is too blunt. We all know that Nazis are bad and this film tells you nothing new. Others say the film lacks a clear message on who the bad gys are, going as far as saying they don't like it because it shows that Nazis were people. So which is it??
@@Blue_Grass_Girl I like movies that show the truth rather than try and dramatize and manipulate via overblown music and hackneyed villians. I like movies that reveal unbiased facts and fully dimensional people, rather than being on a politically correct agenda and try to hit emotional buttons. I find most holocaust movies not to be that. Most are a crock of exaggerated B.S. with Schindler's List being the most prime example.
I thought it was brilliant. The music and sound design was so unsettling. It's the first movie of his that I've seen - I've since gone back to watch Under the Skin (twice), which I loved and Sexy Beast, which was good. You can definitely see the evolution of his craft.
Hi. I'd be interested to see what you think of Past Lives by Celine Song, from last year:) It has nothing to do with The Zone Of Interest, nor is it a challenging, 'pushing-the-envelope' film like you love them, but I think it's a masterpiece of subtlety and emotion, with great performances and a really assured direction, especially for a first film.
It's a shame this movie has to go up against "Oppenheimer" for best picture (which I'm certain is going to win) because it truly deserves a win for that category.
I can easily name 3-4 films this season which are better than Oppenheimer yet they will all lose, why? Because the forces in Hollywood have decided: “this is Nolan’s time.”
@@gpapa31 Oppenheimer is the best film of the decade and will be remembered forever. Nothing else is best picture worthy. Lots of great films this year, but none that special.
I’ve been watching your excellent postings/reviews for almost a decade, and I’m extremely entranced by your ‘Watchmen’ book, on your upper bookshelf, which NEVER moves. It just sort of sits there, not pulled out, not pushed in all the way. Does that poor little book have a life, outside of that tiny little spot, on your upper bookshelf? I’ve sort of grown attached to that little book, waiting for your next posting, when that book is maybe finally acknowledged.
Same with that writing manual directly to her right lol
@@JJJJJVVVVVLLLLLNo, it's her apartment.
@chrismcdowell7138 She mentioned it in her bookshelf review video.
Of all the movies from 2023, this one has never left my mind.
Glazer did it again. He doesnt make a movie often but when he does its a must see
I love your mechanism of life/revolving door example. Also, I like that you brought attention to the film's Kubrickian similarities, standards of kindness, and desensitization. Awesome review, thanks for the upload. 👌
Never been in more complete agreement with your take on a movie, really blew me away. I came across Under the Skin randomly on tv a few years ago and had no idea about it at all, and I came away with a similar kind of reaction. Going into this I knew nothing other than the same guy made it so I figured it would be interesting, but the clips made it seem largely like a family melodrama...it's just really jolting when a film completely confounds your expectations and shows you something you've never seen before. Truly moving and powerful stuff. I think the most shattering aspect of it all is his daughter, who is clearly deeply traumatized, but it's presented as you said in such a subtle and understated way that you almost miss it. Stunning.
You should have more subscribers. Brilliantly eloquent and nuanced review.
she has loads@!
Yeah, I noticed Hoss seemed to be more affectionate towards his horse and was going to miss his horse more than his wife, when he went to Berlin.
love for flowers, animals and hatred for fellow humans
That may have been a reference to Theweleit's book 'Male Tendencies', there's a whole section dedicated to the Nazis obsession with horses.
Yes, as pathetic as this may sound, his love for the horse was the one thing that was relatable, indicating at least he could love something….Seemingly Hoss was devoted and loving to his children as well, as the wife was cold, detached and narcissistic….I sensed he recognized she was limited emotionally and picked up the slack by nurturing the children when he could to the best of his ability……Sadly, even the “best of his abilities” was not enough! One word, cold!
maybe cold doesn't cut it, as you mention he had warmth to horses, flowers and you see a nazi stroke a dog, cold to the jewish community, yes, it makes the whole thing even more bonkers! thanks for pointing it out. @@skyeblu1722
classy behavior of germans from that time/era
Finally saw this. Your review is pretty spot on. The way he went about the story is what makes this work. This is one of those movies you need to see at least once
It was my favorite film of the year as well. The most powerful film I've seen in a very, very long time. The constant background sounds were brilliant, in particular. Oh, and the fact that he's reading Hansel and Gretel, a story that ends with a woman being burned alive in an oven was chilling.
Missed that detail!
@@JarJarKinky He explicitly reads the scene in which she's put in the oven to his daughter. Not sure how you'd miss it.
I love the design of their house and what's so conflicting is they are living beside all the horrors of that time. Us viewers have that same feeling as Hedwig's mother, we can admire what the house looks like but at the end of the day we couldn't stomach the stench and the murders because it's pure evil.
@@JJJJJVVVVVLLLLL Hedwig's mother simply leaves in the middle of the night If I recall correctly. There is a note that is left behind but Hedwig tears it up and throws it away.
@@DelightfulRain713 yeah. And there’s one very brief scene of anonymous ppl in another house further away, where the stench seems to be overwhelming.
For me the single most powerful moment in the movie was when he was dry heaving. Even though his mind didn't confront him with the horror of what he's done, his body eventually expressed how disgusting it was. But also the fact that nothing came out of him was symbolic of the moral emptiness in him.
That's actually a reference to the documentary The Act of Killing that has a scene like that. That one is even more powerful cause its not scripted.
Also the scene where the boy is banging on the drums is also a reference to The Act Of Killing as well
Just saw this yesterday. I very much respect that it stayed true to its premise throughout. I especially was amazed by the restraint of the narrative. Even in the movie's final moments -- where powerful images were shown to the audience without going to the more visceral, horrific (perhaps expected) material that haunts us to this day -- it stayed the course. This movie was Hannah Arendt transferred into a work of art. Amazing.
Agreed.
I felt that 'restraint' itself became a gimmick, it ended up having the opposite effect it intended and became ironically MORE sensational in a way than the 'mainstream' cinematic language it seeks to subvert. Its commitment to the bit overpowered everything and it became not much more than a demonstration of just how 'restrained' or whatever it could be
@@helvete_ingres4717
Care to explain that nonsensical word salad? You sounded like someone who read a review where a paid critic mentioned ":mainstream cinematic language" (an overused phrase that means nothing) and repeated it in a failed effort to sound like Rex Reed's more hip cousin or something.
@@GizmoBeach it's quite self-explanatory, have you considered you're simply dumb and projecting rage at your own inadequacy towards random comments on TH-cam?
@@helvete_ingres4717 I mean you're basically saying in your own way that it did a better job of being impactful and meaningful by being reserved.
I saw this film a few times and was obsessed with it for about a week. One thing id like to add is that so many people find the last act when Rudolf goes away to be dull and lose steam but i think it perfectly captures the tide turning against the Germans in the war. The ending is incredible also, shocked to find so many ppl online hating it.
Exactly. As the Allied Powers advanced the Germans became more desperate to eradicate the evidence of their sickening genocide. Hence the mass deportations. And we see evidence of that tide turning in the radio report of a bombing raid killing Air Force recruits...I kept hoping troops would storm in and give those Nazis a taste of their evil but this was no sensationalist, Tarantino Revisionist History for Dummies Who Like a Happy but Silly Ending kind of film.
Rudolf's retching moments were the only clue that hidden somewhere behind that cool facade there was something resembling a real human being. This isn't the first Glazer film that's lingered in my imagination. "Birth" stuck with me for months.
Excellent review as always. I'm looking forward to rewatching again. Thanks
Great review. You are on strong philosophical ground here.
I haven't seen it (yet) but you are 100% spot on. It's easy to sit here in 2024 in judgement and say, "I'd never be a Nazi!", but you've never been starving for food. You never had money that had no value. You've never had children who don't know where their next meal is coming from. There are no jobs, no unemployment benefits, there is literally nothing but despair not just for you but for everyone in the country. Your neighbors, your friends and family are all starving and dying. And then someone offers you food, a job, a beacon of hope. His speeches are inspiring and talk of rebuilding communities where all people have opportunities to provide for their families, to reverse the indignities borne of previous weak leadership, to participate in creating a strong, vibrant nation lasting 1,000 years. His promises soon become reality and food arrives in abundance and new jobs are created. You begin to feel proud of your hard work in the factories and your self-esteem slowly rises. You may not agree with everything the new leader espouses but isn't that what politicians do? Exaggerate in order to motivate? Besides, there is no one else to lead this once proud nation. And so, just like your neighbor, you join and now you are part of something bigger than yourself. Something strong and worthy and growing. And soon you begin to think, maybe our leader is right, maybe it is their fault and we would be better off without them here in our new nation. That moral part of you, that humanity, has been replaced, slowly over time, by something else you'd never considered before.
And that's how it happens. Your desperation gets used against you. You know it's wrong but you can't stop it from happening.
I sort of disagree. If these were the soldiers in the front who have little control of the situation I would agree with your assessment. However these are educated people with some influence making active choices and benefiting financially from them ( like the wife enjoying the coats, jewelry etc from the camp). I like this film because often people are portrayed as evil all the time, but evil people can be “good” parents and not litter and keep a nice house. I will say as an appreciator of Bonhoeffer I do believe that people even in terrible situations do have choice. Many just go with the easier, more lucrative more let’s make a scapegoat option as justification.
He was a mgga guy. Make germany great again. Exactly!
About time! Been waiting for your review for ages.
Thank you for this fabulous review, the best I’ve yet heard or read. You’ve made me think how Chekhovian this film is.
I watched it in the cinema last Friday. And it was on my mind the whole weekend and will stay with me for a very long time. What a horrifying experience - as it should be. Masterfully done.
A masterful piece of cinema. I watched it a month ago and was haunted by the juxtaposition of events conveyed. Also, the sounds were innovative, subtle, and heartbreaking.
Superb analysis, maybe the best I've read/seen on internet. Especially the way you read the ending of the movie. I love your vlog.
So insightful, thank you for helping my understanding in this film that will not leave my current memory for a long time.
Really enjoyed listening to u talk about the film. I nearly fell asleep during my watching of the actual film tho. But hey, I finally seen all the best picture noms!
Great to hear your clear and well-worded movie reviews 👍! And agree, the power of it, is unwavering..
A unique aspect of this film, it that its impact lies in the knowledge and feelings of what each individual viewer has of that horrific period of our human history.
If a viewer has very little, or no historical awareness or this period... think of how this movie would seem to them.
Hello. I haven't yet seen the film, or read Martin Amis's novel, but I wonder if the story was inspired by a 2011 documentary called "Hitler's Children", which documented the lives of several descendants of Nazi leaders. One of them was Rainer Hoess, the grandson of Rudolf Hoess, who has an old photograph of the garden bordering the camp, which he visits toward the end of the film. In any case, thank you for the insightful review.
Maggie your reviews are always so insightful . Thanks for your work
I want to see this movie! However, I’ve recently been diagnosed with depression. My therapist suggested not to see it in the theater due to the immensity of the message. The polarizing aspects of this movie is brilliant! We all do this to some degree! Survival Thank you for this impeccable review!
My accountant said to me do not see it, wasted 10$. 0 stars.
Excellent review. This film is a true testament to Hannah Ardent's "The Banality of Evil," where everyday images are inseparable from violent actions. Many of the images in this film are so striking, like when Rudolf goes into the yard to smoke, and the lit cigarette contrasts with smoke bellowing from a furnace in the distance. It's an amazing film and easily one of the best cinematic experiences I've had in recent memory.
The war on Gaza taking place as we speak is an even truer testament to Hannah Ardent's "The Banality of Evil"
@@imenzarrouk1448🤫shh you’re not supposed to see the truth
Your review perfectly captures the deep existential layer of the film. Thank you.
I always love the backwards Watchmen cover on the shelf next to you. Background looks better on the right, does it?
Bravo! Excellent work and analysis. I had to keep pausing, shadows everywhere, in the dialogue, spaces, relationships and tension. I want to see it again but can't bring myself to.
This film is a masterpiece. Its so complex to almost build another movie within just the sound aspect, but that its never acknowledged by the things you see.
Maggie you should get on some podcast shows and do some major film discussions! You have a TON to say! I know people in the media space.
she is, this is a big platform.
Agree, Maggie and Mark Kermode could easily write film reviews for a major newspaper or magazine… they both are highly qualified and knowledgeable and passionate and insightful…
@@Vortexfilmclub I know. Such an odd thing to say. "Hey you shouldnt make movie reviews on the LARGEST MEDIA PLATFORM IN THE WORLD, come talk on my small podcast!"
Been waiting for this review. You never disappoint!
I really liked your take on this film, which I agree is the best I have seen in the last year. To me, it’s the boldness and integrity of the choices Glazer makes - he strips away all artífice and conventional narrative devices. I loved the fact that he used the book as a starting point to do research on what really went on and get closer to that. I haven’t seen it 5 times (!) but I’ll give it another go, most likely.
Watched this movie on VOD a couple weeks ago.
In my opinion this is easily the best directed movie of 2023. Everything about it is so METICULOUS from beginning to end. Glazer pretty much nailed it.
This movie is pretty much the EPITOME of the following:
"Happiness caused by suffering is NOT true happiness at all".
The meticulous aspect actually made me hate this movie lol. But I think if I knew what to expect beforehand I probably would’ve liked the movie more
Wow, I'm very impressed that you've seen the film so many times and that you've dealt with the subject matter so deeply.
We in Germany have basically been doing this since we were born and sometimes it's not that easy because the Holocaust has a completely different status here.
Anyway, I really like the way you view films.
To me, I didn't feel like this film had much to offer beyond its initial message and theme. I feel like it could've been half the length and very little would've been affected in terms of what it was getting across. I don't want to be dismissive of a film with this kind of subject matter, but I felt like it ended up being less evocative than was intended
Maggie says early in the video about this being the second year in a row she sees her favorite film of the year after she releases her top 10 list. I can’t seem to remember, which one was her favorite last year?
So I absolutely hated Schiendler's list with it's shameless fabrication and gross emotional manipulation. Is this movie like an antidote to that sort of distorted Holocaust propaganda or just another presentation of the same?
I thought the film had one rather obvious observation on its mind, which was clearly stated within minutes, and after that it was just a couple of the most tedious hours I have ever spent in a movie theater.
My niece watched the boy with the striped pajamas when she was around ten. She was devastated. I haven't watched this movie yet but that came to mind.
Very good review, I'm glad you liked it, it was my favourite film of 2023.
I cannot agree that Rudolph has no emotions though. Throughout the whole film you can see some signs of almost physiological reactions he has to a repressed reality. His stomach aches, underlying stress, and a final scene when he looks clearly at the prospect of his future legacy.
He clearly has an idea about the scale of his atrocious actions, he compartmentalized those thoughts and emotions but his subconscious is hitting him hard in the last scenes.
He chooses to remain a part of the mechanism of death and willingly descends down the dark corridor.
100%. You see especially in the scene where they were in the river. I love the symbolism of the tainted river even impacting his family. And I think it REALLY gets to him.
@@lockekappa500 Also, the scene where he's washing himself after the sexual intercourse - almost like a Pontius Pilate hand washing from responsibility. It clearly takes a toll on him.
@@mrMitrycz Yup. There's constantly symbolism of them "washing their consciences clean" Definitely no absolution of the two main characters.
The premise is genius. Reminds me of Life is Beautiful. My mother worked in a Japanese aircraft factory during the war. Although I'm sure she didn't approve of all the Japanese military did, she survived the war and married an American.
It reminded me of a grown up version of boy in striped pyjamas
one of your best reviews, btw you said "the more that I WATCH it, the more SOUND it FEELS" idk if you wrote that down first but it was a cool sentence
Having just returned after two weeks of visiting family 400 miles away this was the first film of 2024 for me that I hadn't seen before which would be considered "a new film" for this year although it was first released late December in the USA.
Had other things on my "watch list" but deleted them so as to stay on budget this year and not spend precious retirement income on frivolities like movies etc. until further notice. Now that I've found new (and far less expensive) lodgings, I'm hyped to start catching up on what I've missed so far. And after seeing "Zone" it'll be tough to find something as impactful and gut-wrenching.
I'm old enough to remember The Wannsee Conference (1984) when it was new but Zone feels more sinister w/o the viewer shown directly what's taking place beyond a facade of bucolic country life, even while it's just past that wall over yonder. Much like the conclusion of The House that Jack Built ("That's how deep the deepest Hell goes" as that high-pitch hum drones on) we see kids playing and women discussing trivial things and guests partying amidst a backdrop of gunshots, screams, wails. Like "It's over there, no worries."
We also see a child play-acting what he's seen out his window w/ toy soldiers and the hausfrau casually mentioning she'd have her servant cremated and a gardener spreading ashes that we instantly recognize as human remains. I'm sure many have mentioned "the banality of evil" while writing their opinions of this film, but Glazer has captured that morbid phrase perfectly.
The house is next to Auschwitz, In Poland, not Germany
lol...you're right. My bad. Thanks.
@@deepfocuslens Many people in the crew are Polish, as well. Łukasz Szał from Ida and Cold War was the cinematographer. I saw it at Cannes last year and rewatched it a few weeks ago. I think it's a failure. I rewatched it to see if I would change my mind, but sadly no. I was actually more irritated by certain factors (including the editing) the second time around. I don't think the form is rigorous enough and that Glazer is stuck on technicalities.
To be honest, in Cannes, I started sighing as soon as I heard the opening music against the black background, signalling "important film incoming". I also find the ending quite cheap, and Levy's end music even more annoying in its attempt to conjure an immersive experience.
I like the idea of the tools and clothes looking brand new, which goes against stereotypes of historical films, and it was interesting to hear the Polish costume designer address that issue at the press conference.
I visited Auschwitz many years ago. I was sceptical and thought it would be like visiting any museum. Instead, it was one of the strongest moments in my life. In those days, the "guides" were former prisoners who talked objectively about what occurred. The walk along the train track between Auschwitz and Birkenau is one I will never forget, nor the sheer size of Birkenau.
I always appreciate your thoughtful reviews, whether I agree with them or not.
In 1939 and during WWII about 25% of occupied Poland was annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration in Berlin, including the land of Auschwitz during its establishment and operation. The rest of Nazi-occupied Poland was a "General Government district." Thes annexed lands were meant (at murderous expense of others) to become permanently German. After the Soviet Union in 1945 took control over these territories (including the camp), the German population fled or was expelled, and the lands were taken from Germany and became part of the People's Republic of Poland, a Soviet bloc country until 1989.
That's not funny :( @@deepfocuslens
@@munch314get a grip
My grandfather was interred in Stalag Luft IV during WW2. Based on his recollections, there were German guards that were not much better off than the prisoners, and they were "ok", and there were also total monsters (google "Big Stoop" for reference). There was definitely more of a "grey area" of morality in the POW camps than in the concentration camps, but the camps were all horrible.
I watched this last night. In my sixty-something years I’ve never had a movie have such an emotional impact on me. And here, the next day, the drip, drip, drip of of the mundane circling around horrors unseen, still lingers.
Sidenote (possibly it has been mentioned before): They lived in Poland/ occupied Poland. The place name is Oświęcim/ Auschwitz, with Auschwitz-Birkenau being the extermination camp.
Experiencing the movie through sound is not just a gimmick, it's denying us the visceral experience that we usually expect from these movies. The movie goes out of its way to deny us from experiencing the atrocities we can only hear in the distance. But at times I craved to see more, to view the scenes fully-realized. And I realize those cravings comes from a safe distance -- from the luxury of sitting in a movie theater 100 years beyond the historical time period that these events occurred. And at the same time we can understand the family's instinct to shut out and buffer themselves from the engaging in the destruction and depression around them. That dichotomy of wanting to see more, yet not, is so well explored in this film.
I just watched it yesterday. it was a lot to take in. Definitely a unique piece of filmmaking. The oscar for sound was well deserved. One of the things that stuck out to me is that even though this is a family living a 'normal' life, all of the kids are showing signs of distress. The dog as well who is always nervous, pacing, whining, not wanting to be left alone. So even though this is a normal life to the kids, their psyche knows that what they're living amongst is horrific, even if they can't consciously recognise that. The little girl falling asleep in odd places, or sitting in the dark, the baby constantly crying, the little boy watching from the window when a prisoner's punishment (murder) is ordered by his father. The little boy says don't do that again and quickly pulls his hand away and flicks the curtain back. The way he did that was really disturbing. The older son locking his little brother in the greenhouse laughing and making a hissing sound, to me shows that he is now old enough to know what's going on and because of the environment he's in, he's following in his father's footsteps. The family is seemingly unaffected, yet intensely affected at the same time
Great review, happy you got to this one! Not my favorite of the year, but certainly one of the best!
Would love to hear your opinion on Boy and The Heron. One of my favourites from last year
Can you push that WATCHMEN thing in on the top shelf. Distracting me.
House is based in Oświęcim, Poland.
Great review! Well done, perfectly put.
Great film. I saw it in theater and was struck by the soundscape design. Obviously I was struck by everything else as well. I just think no one else has been talking about the soundscape.
Amazing review of an amazing film. Of course most wouldn't protest the nazis if one lived in germany at the time. Firstly, it was the way of life, normalized, so most didn't even think about it. Secondly, it was illegal, which was a strong incentive to not do anything even if you wanted.
I think a good way of knowing if you'd be protesting the nazis (at least in your mind) is if you are protesting against our time's biggest injustice - namely the exploitation and killing of non-human animals. Most don't even think about it, or think about it for a moment and then goes on with life, perhaps buying a chicken sandwich. You said it quite tellingly yourself: "the moment I crack an egg, someone is dying of starvation." Yes, it's true that some human is dying of starvation, but it is also true that the moment you bought that egg, you finance the exploitation and killing of sentient beings.
Very well said.
@@davey8914 Thank you
Very powerful movie. While watching it I had this thought that we are all doing this right now to farm animals, living lives full of culinary pleasures and pretending very hard not to notice, each of us trying to bury the cognitive dissonance.
I remember watching it and the whole time I was completely entranced how chilling it was. Jonathan Glazer is such an interesting filmmaker and I loved ‘Under the Skin’
I disagree that the film portrays Rudolf as a psychopath or unable to feel connection. The conversation with his wife when they're in bed, remembering a trip to Italy, the care for his children, the concern when they get covered in ash flowing down the river - these are not the indifference of a psychopath or someone who feels no connection. Now he could be a psychopath pretending to be normal, but this is the case for just about any character in film - he mostly seems pretty normal.
There is an increasing disconnection towards the end, where he's in Berlin away from his family and doesn't really fit in, spending his days discussing/planning mass murder, he's clearly very detached at the party, he's awake late at night, calling his wife in the middle of the night with no sense of how late it is, the wretching on the stairwell - the implication is not that he was born this way, that he was all along a psychopath, someone who feels no human connection, and he just found his niche. That's the whole point of the film, he was normal. He compartmentalises. The film is suggesting though, particularly toward the end, that you can't keep things like this compartmentalised and it is affecting him and he is becoming more detached.
I´ve come to appreciate a nice poetic Happy End in which the protagonist suddenly starts to vomit = The Act of Killing.
no mention of Mica Levi kind of saddens me haha no but Really imo this is one of if not your best reviews! 10/10
end credits great music
what a beautiful review.The film has haunted me since i saw it. I find that it is particularly timely, the selective sensitivity that we show. Large scale atrocities happen in current time and we choose to ignore. The villains will not appear gros-plan with dramatic drums soundtrack. You listen to them on tv while making coffee
next request: do "all of us strangers"review please.My third favourite film of 2023
Same as you. I also made my top 10 list before seeing this one,and now that I have seen it three times already, I can say that this is not only the best movie of 2023 but also one of the best of the 21st century.
what do you think about what Glazer had to say at the Oscars ?
He meant well.
I agree! Favorite movie of the year. Hard to recommend, but I couldn't help but feel haunted by this movie.
Review was as thoughtful and layered as the film, thank you
Fully agree, just left the cinema and read the imdb trivia, endlessly fascinating to see many details that seemed like speculation actually taking place + what an insane effort this production was. A true masterpiece, I hope this gets shown in German schools in the future instead of "Schindler's List". Le chambres rouges and Zone of Interest are so far my favourites of 2023.
If this is based on the Martin Amis book, I have that but haven't finished it ... Been really off on my reading lately ... And my writing ...
Thanks to this review, I watched the movie, and wow what a great film. It is the best holocaust movie because it's not about the victims, it's not about the overtly evil perpetrators. It's about normal people psychologically ignoring atrocity, which is most of us today.
I suspected you would love this film as you share my love of Lynch movies, and the sound design reminded me strongly of Lynch, especially in how unsettling it was, while the visuals were more Kubrickian. I only saw this film after I thought I'd compiled my final list for 2023 (with a handful of 2022 films I saw last year), and I had to rework it. For what it's worth, here is my top fifteen (I haven't watched _Poor Things_ or _Anatomy of a Fall_ unfortunately):
1. The Zone of Interest
2. Past Lives
3. All of Us Strangers
4. The Unknown Country
5. Saltburn
6. The Holdovers
7. Oppenheimer
8. Killers of the Flower Moon
9. The Beasts
10. A Thousand and One
11. Skinamarink
12. Fallen Leaves
13. Talk to Me
14. Reality
15. May December
One of the rare films with sequences that felt incredibly "Lynchian" to me, which is a term that I think is generally overused. Cool that someone else felt similarly :)
Also, good list!
@@JarJarKinky Yes, I agree it gets overused, and I was even a little hesitant to use the term, so thank you for getting what I was saying.
Did Glazer actually struggle with interpreting this material or is that your interpretation? I never heard about that. Maybe he mentioned it in an interview or article i missed?
He said it in a popular interview on youtube.
Wasn't expecting the existential reflection in my beer can after dinner, but oop, there it is
I did a presentation of the film in high school filmmaking class less than a month ago, and my teacher said to me that it is the only holocaust film that she thinks is responsible. The class loved it too.
Other holocaust films I’d recommend are Night and Fog, Shoah, and The White Ribbon ( A pre holocaust exploration of the education of the generation that would eventually become the Nazis)
I am happy to see your recommendation of The White Ribbon. That film immediately came to mind while I was watching Zone of Interest.
It's a beautiful review. One of your very best.
I've seen Kubrick's Shining adaptation pop up in more than a few reviews for The Zone Of Interest, as if it's some obvious cinematic inspiration - it is very much not.
The truth is that the formal techniques used in The Shining (slow zooms, snap-zooms, POV shots, flowing Steadicam, cross-cutting, stylistic lighting, helicopter shots) are so far outside of Jonathan Glazer's visual language in Zone as he goes out of his way to avoid using these and other techniques. So, how exactly are these two similar? I mean, they're both creepy movies but by that logic I could compare Zone to The Babadook or Insidious (which is just as ridiculous as comparing it to The Shining). Even their temperaments are diametrically opposite; The Shining is dramatic and heavy-handed in everything it sets out to do* while The Zone Of Interest is undramatic, voyeuristic, observational and subtle.
*I'm not saying this is a detriment, I'm a fan of everything Kubrick does in that movie, I'm just pointing it out for the sake of the comparison. I mean, for fuck's sake, the 'Kubrick Stare' became a meme for a reason, yet he's still regarded as this 'subtle' filmmaker. There's a huge gap between the movies people think Kubrick made and the movies he actually made - just as there's the myth and mystique of him as this elusive figure vs. the regular-ass Roseanne-loving dude he was (not to mention the persistent misconception that he abused Shelley Duvall, which she has explicitly debunked). The compositions are similar but, again, it would be an outright stretch to compare them.
So what is this comparison to The Zone Of Interest based on, exactly? I think trying to unpack that lies probably somewhere in Rodney Ascher's Room 237 about the cumulative effect of how The Shining became a cultural black hole. Again, there's the misconception that Kubrick was a perfectionist, so when we have clear continuity errors they're blown out of proportion. Kubrick was more focused on performances than he was on chair placement but when you see him through the lens of an infallible genius, a chair moving from one part of the frame to another means 'secret ghosts.' Jonathan Glazer's movies have that air of mystique and perfectionism so maybe that's why the Kubrickian stereotype is laid upon him and his work...despite having nothing to do with The Shining.
One point of disagreement I have with your review is your claim that the protagonist is a psychopath. He may well be, but I don't think the film provides enough insight into his character to allow the audience to make this judgement. Perhaps this personal aspect is drawn out into further detail in the novel? I am not sure because I haven't read it.. However, if what you say is true, and it may well be, then it detracts from my favorite nuance of the movie: these are Nazis who aren't villains.
Kinda refreshing... My friend pointed that out to me and I dug it. Normal people are quite capable of atrocities when their ideologies support murderous behavior.
As a piece of art, I give it an 8/10. It's incredibly unique. There's a 'Where's Waldo' game going on that engaged me entirely throughout. But it never shifted for me. I felt like I was staring into a deep pool, trying to see something there, only to realize that the water was filtered and chlorinated, dyed a translucent blue, and the perfectly legible words written at the bottom read, 'The protagonist went to work. Then he went went to sleep. Then he went to work. Then he went to sleep. Then he opened a door. Then he went to work. Then to sleep. Then he opened a jar. Then he went to work.'
The movie feels like a long road to nowhere to me. And I guess sometimes life feels that way too, but the truth is that death is always around the corner, and, for me, Glazer fails to capture death's profundity.
Best movie of the year by far. See it in the movies if possible. Incredible sound from beginning to end. Devastating.
The Zone of Interest shook me to the core as it revels in unfathomable horror with sounds. Also doesn't offer Spielberg's ending. It forces one to face -- despite few happy endings there are millions more miserable stories we choose to ignore.
EDIT: PS: Your reviews are spot on, always look forward to your videos. You may like one of the year's best 'All of us strangers'
I would love to hear your thoughts on Jonathan Glazer's Birth. It was pretty trashed when it came out. Nowadays it has a big following. I love so much about it but also find it baffling.
What do you think Hoss vomiting as he descended the stairs near the end of the movie was all about? To me, it seemed like he was maybe having pangs of guilt for what he was doing or nerves about his new job?
I saw it as "deep down he knows what he's doing is wrong" but he's basically killed his moral compass by this point so those pangs of guilt don't change him in any meaningful way. Also felt that the final sequence wasn't supposed to be taken as literally as what came before. It's in kind of a dreamy space out of time.
It definitely reminded me of Act of Killing, which apparently Glazer gave the cast to watch as homework. Spoiler:
The end of that movie involves a man who participated in genocide becoming physically ill from his memories.
@@adamgates1142 Yeah I actually watched Act of Killing a few days ago. I suspected that maybe Glazer had seen it. Cool to know!
I think this movie is us, its us now, we are the Hoss's, when things get too horrible on the TV we turn it off. When our grandparents get old we wheel them into a concrete box and visit them once a week, we are ignoring the pain of others every day. WW2 the Brits bombed women and children in cities with the same ease and obliviousness as the Germans killed the Jews. So this is not far away from all humans - we are all the Hoss's. And if its not you, then it's the person next to you.
For someone as thorough and insightful as you are in your reviews, I find it curious given the timing of the release of this movie that you completely avoided any mention of a current event where many descendants of the ethno-group portrayed in this film are not only supporting the mass killing of civilians but also cheering it on. It’s really quite odd.
yeah but it's not just her but also other prominent American critics perhaps because it's a different discussion altogether? or a divisive and a longer one
@@sranzuline That's understandable. I guess I was expecting something to be said by her considering she saw it 5 times and it's her favorite of the year.
Fantastic review! This film was phenomenal….. Keep up your brilliant work.
This is a very powerful, chilling movie. Would say it is the best Holocaust related film to come out in recent years along with the Hungarian film from 2015 'Son of Saul.' The contrast between the idyllic Höss home juxtaposed to what lies beyond the garden wall, where gunshots, shouting, and sounds of trains and furnaces are audible is the genuine horror of this movie.
How anyone could witness the atrocities of Auschwitz or any other concentration camp and still be able to carry on with a so-called normal existence remains a mystery. This movie is the single best on-screen representation of this duality.
And unlike the Holocaust movies we have become accustomed to over the years, there is no bloodshed, emaciated bodies, or acts of terror that are shown on camera. And yet it is convincing. The knowledge we have of the acts of torture being committed is enough to frighten and terrify us that we need not see them to get the full effect.
I have not seen this movie yet , but I certainly will based on your informative review .
Many thanks for the recommendation !
I thought sleep and awakening are central themes in this. The daughter couldnt sleep or was sleepwalking. The mom couldnt sleep due to the noises of burning and the smell of it, so she left. She seemed to be ok with all of it during the day but her sleep was bothered by it. The apple girl scenes are like a dream, yet in a way it feels like she's the only one who is awake, awake in a nightmare.
There is a genius moment in this movie (among others) where the editor do a fadi in to a pure white screen , it's like an alarm , Glazer snapping his fingers and saying " hey wake up, this thing happened, don't be INSIDE the movie, don't live it or enjoy it, just WATCH IT and keep your distance. " Plus this white screen makes the whole crowd in the cinema visible... like "guys be serious. "
And if course the ashes used as fertilizer.............
Great review! I love this director.
Hm. So I read a ton of user reviews on Rotten tomatoes who said this movie is absolutely unwatchable. So which is it??
Depends on what kind of film you like and what you legitimatly expect from a film in general. If you want to be entertained and feel good, this is absolutely not the film to watch. Seriously, don't put yourself through this, if a very quiet film, that explains nothing is not for you. Also, if sound is not something that rocks your boat, this film will completely fail to impress you. Another reviewer said: this is less a film and more of an expericence, and not a nice experience at that.
Some commenters say this film is too blunt. We all know that Nazis are bad and this film tells you nothing new.
Others say the film lacks a clear message on who the bad gys are, going as far as saying they don't like it because it shows that Nazis were people.
So which is it??
@@Blue_Grass_Girl I like movies that show the truth rather than try and dramatize and manipulate via overblown music and hackneyed villians. I like movies that reveal unbiased facts and fully dimensional people, rather than being on a politically correct agenda and try to hit emotional buttons. I find most holocaust movies not to be that. Most are a crock of exaggerated B.S. with Schindler's List being the most prime example.
Great review for this masterpiece. Best film I've seen in a very very long time. A towering achievement.
So glad you enjoyed this film! I thought it was incredible.
the story is taking place right now
I thought it was brilliant. The music and sound design was so unsettling. It's the first movie of his that I've seen - I've since gone back to watch Under the Skin (twice), which I loved and Sexy Beast, which was good. You can definitely see the evolution of his craft.
Hi. I'd be interested to see what you think of Past Lives by Celine Song, from last year:) It has nothing to do with The Zone Of Interest, nor is it a challenging, 'pushing-the-envelope' film like you love them, but I think it's a masterpiece of subtlety and emotion, with great performances and a really assured direction, especially for a first film.
It's a shame this movie has to go up against "Oppenheimer" for best picture (which I'm certain is going to win) because it truly deserves a win for that category.
I can easily name 3-4 films this season which are better than Oppenheimer yet they will all lose, why? Because the forces in Hollywood have decided: “this is Nolan’s time.”
@@gpapa31 Oppenheimer is the best film of the decade and will be remembered forever. Nothing else is best picture worthy. Lots of great films this year, but none that special.
@@RB-.- 😂 sorry, not even close mate. It’s not even Nolan’s best film. But hey, if that’s what you want to believe so be it.
I'd really love to hear what you think of Johnathan Glazer's speech at the Oscars