How a Domestic Scene Creates Dread in ‘The Zone of Interest’ | Anatomy of a Scene

This sequence from “The Zone of Interest,” which is nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture, observes a weekday at the home of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the concentration camp Auschwitz. That home is positioned directly next door to the camp. In the kitchen, Rudolf’s wife, Hedwig, sits and gossips with friends. In another room, Rudolf meets with the engineers of a crematory. But the scene primarily follows Aniela, a young Polish girl who works in the home, preparing a glass of schnapps to celebrate the commandant’s birthday, and delivering boots to him during his meeting.

Discussing the scene, the film’s director, Jonathan Glazer, said that he chose to follow Aniela, rather than the main characters, “because it’s really one of the only times in the film where we can see and connect and spend time with, essentially, a victim of these atrocities.”

He explained that he chose to use multiple cameras to shoot the scene, and the film overall, because “I really didn’t want to have sort of the artificial construction of a conventional film to tell this story. Rather, to view them anthropologically, as if we were a fly on the wall.”

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[BugVlogs]

One of my favorite films of the decade so far. Very impressive how showing absolutely nothing of the horrors happening in the camp is somehow even more terrifying.

[ScottHaslegrave]

The lack of empathy is what shocked me the most. Amazing film

[sugarpuffsanctuary]

I nursed one of the crematorium workers at the end of his life in Sydney 1992. He was rescued by the British and they told him they could send him anywhere in their colonies so he said send me as far away from Europe as possible and they sent him to Australia. He wrote his memories down for his family and anyone else to read if interested, it was horrific. The thing I remember most was when he opened the gas chamber doors and saw bleeding bodies piled in a pyramid shape as they clambered on top of each other scratching and tearing each other to get the last piece of air at the top of the room, children clinging to their mothers legs under skirts. I don’t think I could share the other things I read.

[stace_d]

This film is so nuanced and incredible. I'd love to watch it again, with Glazer's commentary throughout, explaining all the filming details

[tznk]

This is an exceptionally well made film and the Oscar was well deserved.

[norazaizar]

The chilling sounds heard as a background to a young boy playing with his toys in his bedroom. Unbelievable film.

[samrock]

The moment the screen got red and the sound got louder was an incredible experience and nearly knocked me out

[JuaniPodrido]

I had to buy a pair of quality headphones to take in the ambience of the film.

This is one of a kind of a remembrance without showing what's happening behind the walls, the final scene of cleaning the rooms really hits the nail in the coffin of delivering the message.

[MultiSUPERLATIVO]

The women who worked in the house were not Jewish (as Mr. Glazer explains in the video), it is clear that the men working outside were.
As a researcher focusing on works of art stolen from Jews, I found Hedwig Höss's mother's dialogue interesting, when she said that she cleaned the house of a Jewish family and that she had a passion for her boss's curtains. She revealed that she was unable to buy the curtains because someone bid better than hers at the auction.
Dutch museologist Peter van Mensch has long been denouncing the fact that German families are selling Jewish objects on the black market, to antique dealers and private collectors. The Nazis who were in possession of this war spoils are dying and their families are trying to get rid of these collections.

[ChooseCompassion]

As a cinephile I am especially appreciative of him taking the time to break down the scene.

[meiji_apollo]

It truly felt like they were discussing a sale of home furniture in that meeting

[howiespancakeshack]

One of the best films I have ever seen. Glazer is the real deal. So happy to see him getting recognised.

[mkader]

This is the best film I've seen in years. The Director is a man of principle.

[sorayaassar]

I didn’t realize how much of the film actually was real and based on actual people and situations.

[Sedge]

It is one of the best and at the same time most touching films I have seen so far. a work of art far away from any commercialism

[pameslicker]

I was also fascinated by these characters and the scenes. I watched especially the Polish woman; I assumed she was a prisoner of the camp but you can tell she knows everything she does has to be perfect. The Gardner washing the blood off the boots was horrifying. The calm, general talk about the efficiency of the, I assumed they were furnaces, was chilling. The more I think about this movie, the more impressed I am.

[SzybkieRecki]

Brilliant. I didn't notice it the first time, honestly. I think it's one of the films where you notice more of such things during the secong viewing.

[marvinomarmenjivaralvarez]

Just watched the film yesterday as it won the Oscar for best international film, no doubt of the why! Amazing film and this commentary just makes me want to watch it again

[emusical]

Amazing, terrifying film. I'm Jewish and so glad I saw this.

[adambrocklehurst]

One of the most effective and horrifying films ever made.