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The Zone of Interest
2023 105 min United States of America, Poland, United Kingdom PG-13 18+
★8.1
Drama, History, War
Director: Jonathan Glazer
🎭 Based on
«The Zone of Interest»
byMartin Amis
Trailers
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Teaser
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Description
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.
Budget:
$15M
US Gross:
$8.66M
Worldwide:
$52.63M
Starring
Christian Friedel
Actor
Sandra Hüller
Actor
Johann Karthaus
Actor
Awards
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Best Original Score
Academy Awards 2024
— Best International Feature Film
European Film Awards 2023
— Best Sound
Academy Awards 2024
— Best Picture
Academy Awards 2024
— Best International Feature Film
European Film Awards 2023
— Best Sound
European Film Awards 2023
— Best Director
European Film Awards 2023
— Best Screenplay
Academy Awards 2024
— Best Sound
BAFTA 2024
— Best Sound
BAFTA 2024
— Best British Film
BAFTA 2024
— Best Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA 2024
— Best Supporting Actress
BAFTA 2024
— Best Film Editing
Golden Globe 2024
— Best Original Score
Academy Awards 2024
— Best Director
Academy Awards 2024
— Best Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA 2024
— Best Cinematography
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Palme d'Or
Goya Awards 2025
— Best European Film
César Awards 2025
— Best International Feature Film
Golden Globe 2024
— Best International Feature Film
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Vulcain Prize
BAFTA 2024
— Best International Feature Film
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— Grand Jury Prize
Cannes Film Festival 2023
— FIPRESCI Prize – Competition
BAFTA 2024
— Best Director
BAFTA 2024
— Best Production Design
European Film Awards 2023
— Best Actor
European Film Awards 2023
— Best Actress
Key opinion
The Zone of Interest is a chillingly detached exploration of the banality of evil, focusing on the domestic lives of a Nazi family living adjacent to Auschwitz. While critics praise its unique, sound-driven approach to historical trauma, audiences are divided by its slow, unconventional, and challenging narrative style.
| Score | The sound design masterfully creates a pervasive sense of dread by juxtaposing the mundane domestic life of the family with the distant, horrific auditory background of the camp. | |
| Acting | Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel deliver exceptional, chilling performances that effectively ground the film's clinical and observational tone. | |
| Originality | The film’s decision to avoid explicit depictions of violence in favor of implication and background detail serves as a powerful and haunting artistic choice. | |
| Cinematography | The cinematography and aesthetic approach succeed in capturing the unsettling contrast between the family’s idyllic garden and the industrial horror of their surroundings. | |
| Pacing | The slow, observational pacing and lack of traditional plot rewards viewers seeking an immersive, atmospheric experience, but leaves others feeling bored or frustrated by the monotony. | |
| Direction | The film’s stark, detached stylistic choices are perceived by some as a brilliant and necessary form of historical confrontation, while others find the coldness of the narrative makes the experience inaccessible or disjointed. |