The Zone of Interest

2023, 1h 45min, Drama, History, War

Directors: Jonathan Glazer

Stars: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus

In occupied Poland, Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss lives with his wife Hedwig and their children in a comfortable villa whose garden wall borders the camp. Their days are filled with birthdays, swimming, and tending flowers, even as smoke and distant screams drift over the fence. The film watches their ordinary routines with a calm, detached eye, showing how they ignore the killing machinery that sustains their privilege. It is a slow, unsettling drama that keeps the worst horrors offscreen, focusing instead on quiet conversations, small domestic conflicts, and the chilling ease with which violence becomes background noise.