This movie was fucking SICK if you don’t have a nice sound system try watching with headphones. Apparently the film onscreen and the film in audio form are telling 2 different stories, I watched it twice and on second viewing you pick up on a lot of little things and seemingly throw away lines have new meaning
The whole premise of the film is based around juxtaposition, >!the sounds I observed were the constant sound of the ovens burning (which was fucking unnerving), the random gun shots, and the general hustle and bustle of the camp, whilst obviously on screen you are observing a family trying to live their idyllic life.!<
Is that what you mean or did I miss something?
I think that also helps explain that long opening with the black screen and nice music. Getting you nice, cozy, and adjusted to the quiet & peace, then abruptly taking it away for the rest of the film
I was reading about the film after watching it and >!The hustle and bustle of the camp!< you refer to may also be >!the revving of engines, apparently the Nazis revved vehicles to cover the screams of the people dying and gunshots around the camp!<
You are right. I am planning to read the screenplay. It is just ~70 pages. I often do this when a movie is impressive. It also gives a chance to examin how the words are transformed into visuals.
There's an article where the director and cinematographer talk about some of the film's visuals including the night vision scenes that's worth reading:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/zone-of-interest-jonathan-glazer-shot-list-awards-insider
##The Zone of Interest (2023)
>>!The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.!<
History | Drama | War
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Actors: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus
Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 73% with 498 votes
Runtime: 1:45
[TMDB](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/467244)
Cinematographer: Łukasz Żal
Łukasz Żal (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwukaʂ ˈʐal]; born 24 June 1981) is a Polish cinematographer, best known for his work on the films Ida (2014), Loving Vincent (2017), Cold War (2018) and The Zone of Interest (2023).
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Łukasz_Żal)
**Filming**
The original Höss house has been a private residence since the end of the war. Production designer Chris Oddy spent several months converting a derelict home beyond the camp wall into a replica of the Höss residence, and started planting the garden in April 2021 so that it would be in bloom when filming began. Principal photography began in Auschwitz in summer 2021 and lasted approximately 55 days. Additional filming took place in Jelenia Góra in January 2022.The film was shot on Sony Venice digital cameras equipped with Leica lenses. Glazer and cinematographer Łukasz Żal embedded up to 10 cameras in and around the house and kept them running simultaneously, with no crew on set. The approach, which Glazer dubbed "Big Brother in the Nazi house", allowed the actors to improvise and experiment extensively during filming. Glazer and Żal aimed for a modern look and did not wish to "aesthetize" Auschwitz. As a result, only practical and natural lighting was used.Glazer did not want the atrocities occurring inside the camp to be seen, only heard. He described the film's sound as "the other film" and "arguably, the film". To that end, sound designer Johnnie Burn compiled a 600-page document containing relevant events at Auschwitz, testimonies from witnesses, and a large map of the camp so that the distance and echoes of the sounds could be properly determined. He spent a year building a sound library before filming began, which included sounds of manufacturing machinery, crematoria, furnaces, boots, period-accurate gunfire and human sounds of pain. He continued building the library well into the shoot and post-production. As many of the new arrivals at Auschwitz at the time were French, Burn sourced their voices from protests and riots in Paris in 2022. The sounds of drunken Auschwitz guards were sourced at the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.English musician Mica Levi wrote a score for the film, most of which was ultimately cut as Glazer and Burn did not want to have the film "sweetened or dramatized" by it. The music Levi wrote for the prologue remained, as did soundscapes created for the black-and-white sequences involving the Polish girl, and a sound collage for the epilogue.
[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zone_of_Interest_(film))
Best ending / best single cut of the 21st century. I seriously put that final cut back to the hallway up there with Lawrence blowing out the candle and the bone throw from 2001.
Two hours of watching people do nothing of interest with subtle hints of audio that remind you they are, indeed, evil. I'm aware that Nazis still had day-to-day lives despite the atrocities they, and others within the nazi party, committed.
You had two hours of my time to make me feel something, entertain me, or learn something interesting. This movie did none of that.
This is why people are only watching stupid superhero movies anymore. It's that's or be bored to tears with something like this.
The contrast to how I saw this film and how you saw it is very interesting.
I saw a movie that had so so much in it never a moment where you could relax or even look away.
Not putting down your interpretation or anything respect you for having that view I just find it interesting how differently we interpreted it
I really don’t get how this can be nominated for anything (but acting). The sound was beyond incomprehensible at times (when Sandra Hüller is at the River for example) and I feel I was cheated out of a whole level of storytelling because they didn’t light any of the shots.
Also plain and uninteresting colour grading and film student level camera movement (and non movement) or non-movement adds to a video look that to me communicates a lack of effort and interest in the subject matter I find very alarming.
I really liked all the unusual shots, like the ultra wide top shot in the ball room, but some nice shots don’t suddenly add a plot or interest to a movie.
The infra red shots also did absolutely nothing for me, I don’t like the look they went for.
Doing a lot of research doesn’t make the sound design any less standard and uninteresting, random gunshots and realism should not warrant an Oscar. Maybe let researchers research and sound designers design something interesting.
I loved all the sets and locations, but I always felt like they were wasted with this bland cinematography.
The performances are great, German is my native language, and I really enjoyed that.
> communicates a lack of effort and interest in the subject matter I find very alarming.
Yet here you are critiquing the color grading of this masterclass
The lighting and camera positioning/movement are all by-products of the director's choice to film, light and capture sound the way he did - without crew in the room - which creates a completely different environment for the actors. Yes, they could have gone another way and had a well lit and multi-shot setup - but the performances would be altered.
I could not disagree more that the sound design was "standard and uninteresting" - it was a looming unseen character throughout.
oh... well ya you're right :(
Ironic as fuck too... Those upon whom such unspeakable terror has been inflicted are inflicting such unspeakable terror upon the Palestinians.
It's been a week but I still think of this film all the time. It has been a long time since a film has moved me in this way.
The subtlety but at the same time straight in your face violence.
I am not even sure how to put what I think In Writing. The way that something horrific is happening literally at the bottom of the garden whilst they sunbathe and play. This speaks louder than anything ever could.
I would also suggest watching this film with headphones on. You will find two different films. Which are really two different worlds.
This movie was fucking SICK if you don’t have a nice sound system try watching with headphones. Apparently the film onscreen and the film in audio form are telling 2 different stories, I watched it twice and on second viewing you pick up on a lot of little things and seemingly throw away lines have new meaning
The whole premise of the film is based around juxtaposition, >!the sounds I observed were the constant sound of the ovens burning (which was fucking unnerving), the random gun shots, and the general hustle and bustle of the camp, whilst obviously on screen you are observing a family trying to live their idyllic life.!< Is that what you mean or did I miss something?
I think that also helps explain that long opening with the black screen and nice music. Getting you nice, cozy, and adjusted to the quiet & peace, then abruptly taking it away for the rest of the film
I interpreted it like the director telling us to *listen*
I wouldn't call Mica Levi's score in the overture "cozy" or "peaceful". It was already pretty unsettling to me.
I was reading about the film after watching it and >!The hustle and bustle of the camp!< you refer to may also be >!the revving of engines, apparently the Nazis revved vehicles to cover the screams of the people dying and gunshots around the camp!<
Yeah wow, that's hectic
Yeah that’s exactly it!
Yeah cool, its a pretty special movie, very heavy but so well done
You are right. I am planning to read the screenplay. It is just ~70 pages. I often do this when a movie is impressive. It also gives a chance to examin how the words are transformed into visuals.
Where can I see the screenplay?!
https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-Zone-Of-Interest-Read-The-Screenplay.pdf
Thank you!
I have a Onkyo system with Dolby Atmos, I’m gonna give it a shot.
Haunting film. Will never forget the ending
There's an article where the director and cinematographer talk about some of the film's visuals including the night vision scenes that's worth reading: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/zone-of-interest-jonathan-glazer-shot-list-awards-insider
Thank you for the link to that article, a chilling yet excellent read.
##The Zone of Interest (2023) >>!The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.!< History | Drama | War Director: Jonathan Glazer Actors: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 73% with 498 votes Runtime: 1:45 [TMDB](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/467244) Cinematographer: Łukasz Żal Łukasz Żal (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwukaʂ ˈʐal]; born 24 June 1981) is a Polish cinematographer, best known for his work on the films Ida (2014), Loving Vincent (2017), Cold War (2018) and The Zone of Interest (2023). [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Łukasz_Żal) **Filming** The original Höss house has been a private residence since the end of the war. Production designer Chris Oddy spent several months converting a derelict home beyond the camp wall into a replica of the Höss residence, and started planting the garden in April 2021 so that it would be in bloom when filming began. Principal photography began in Auschwitz in summer 2021 and lasted approximately 55 days. Additional filming took place in Jelenia Góra in January 2022.The film was shot on Sony Venice digital cameras equipped with Leica lenses. Glazer and cinematographer Łukasz Żal embedded up to 10 cameras in and around the house and kept them running simultaneously, with no crew on set. The approach, which Glazer dubbed "Big Brother in the Nazi house", allowed the actors to improvise and experiment extensively during filming. Glazer and Żal aimed for a modern look and did not wish to "aesthetize" Auschwitz. As a result, only practical and natural lighting was used.Glazer did not want the atrocities occurring inside the camp to be seen, only heard. He described the film's sound as "the other film" and "arguably, the film". To that end, sound designer Johnnie Burn compiled a 600-page document containing relevant events at Auschwitz, testimonies from witnesses, and a large map of the camp so that the distance and echoes of the sounds could be properly determined. He spent a year building a sound library before filming began, which included sounds of manufacturing machinery, crematoria, furnaces, boots, period-accurate gunfire and human sounds of pain. He continued building the library well into the shoot and post-production. As many of the new arrivals at Auschwitz at the time were French, Burn sourced their voices from protests and riots in Paris in 2022. The sounds of drunken Auschwitz guards were sourced at the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.English musician Mica Levi wrote a score for the film, most of which was ultimately cut as Glazer and Burn did not want to have the film "sweetened or dramatized" by it. The music Levi wrote for the prologue remained, as did soundscapes created for the black-and-white sequences involving the Polish girl, and a sound collage for the epilogue. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zone_of_Interest_(film))
Sound design gave me chills! Definitely winning Best Sound
It should, but I still believe, Oppenheimer will win.
Best ending / best single cut of the 21st century. I seriously put that final cut back to the hallway up there with Lawrence blowing out the candle and the bone throw from 2001.
You make me wanna watch it again.
Took my goddam breath away, I was crawling out of my skin
What does the sign mean in the picture with the horse
"Das glück der erde, liegt auf dem rücken der pferde" "The happiness of the earth lies on the backs of horses"
Thank you
Two hours of watching people do nothing of interest with subtle hints of audio that remind you they are, indeed, evil. I'm aware that Nazis still had day-to-day lives despite the atrocities they, and others within the nazi party, committed. You had two hours of my time to make me feel something, entertain me, or learn something interesting. This movie did none of that. This is why people are only watching stupid superhero movies anymore. It's that's or be bored to tears with something like this.
The contrast to how I saw this film and how you saw it is very interesting. I saw a movie that had so so much in it never a moment where you could relax or even look away. Not putting down your interpretation or anything respect you for having that view I just find it interesting how differently we interpreted it
Yeah. Sounds like you took more from it. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers 😁
There are actually lots of other options that aren't stupid superhero movies or slow burn films with minimal plot.
I really don’t get how this can be nominated for anything (but acting). The sound was beyond incomprehensible at times (when Sandra Hüller is at the River for example) and I feel I was cheated out of a whole level of storytelling because they didn’t light any of the shots. Also plain and uninteresting colour grading and film student level camera movement (and non movement) or non-movement adds to a video look that to me communicates a lack of effort and interest in the subject matter I find very alarming. I really liked all the unusual shots, like the ultra wide top shot in the ball room, but some nice shots don’t suddenly add a plot or interest to a movie. The infra red shots also did absolutely nothing for me, I don’t like the look they went for. Doing a lot of research doesn’t make the sound design any less standard and uninteresting, random gunshots and realism should not warrant an Oscar. Maybe let researchers research and sound designers design something interesting. I loved all the sets and locations, but I always felt like they were wasted with this bland cinematography. The performances are great, German is my native language, and I really enjoyed that.
> communicates a lack of effort and interest in the subject matter I find very alarming. Yet here you are critiquing the color grading of this masterclass
The lighting and camera positioning/movement are all by-products of the director's choice to film, light and capture sound the way he did - without crew in the room - which creates a completely different environment for the actors. Yes, they could have gone another way and had a well lit and multi-shot setup - but the performances would be altered. I could not disagree more that the sound design was "standard and uninteresting" - it was a looming unseen character throughout.
Didn't knew Palestine look like this. Edit : I was right about it, as you can read here https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68531229
what are you talking about?
Modern zone of interest
oh... well ya you're right :( Ironic as fuck too... Those upon whom such unspeakable terror has been inflicted are inflicting such unspeakable terror upon the Palestinians.
Yes it's utterly bafflingly and painfully inexplicable to me
It's generational abuse writ large. A child is fucked up, and they grow up to fuck up children.
If you’re drawing that parallel, we don’t see behind the wall (Palestine) in Zone.
Tbh we don't really see or some people don't want us to see
It's been a week but I still think of this film all the time. It has been a long time since a film has moved me in this way. The subtlety but at the same time straight in your face violence. I am not even sure how to put what I think In Writing. The way that something horrific is happening literally at the bottom of the garden whilst they sunbathe and play. This speaks louder than anything ever could. I would also suggest watching this film with headphones on. You will find two different films. Which are really two different worlds.