Continuing my movie reviews, I am now taking up The Zone of Interest.
When I first read about it months ago I was fascinated, and was eager to see it. Sandra Hueller has more than proved her work as an actress in Toni Erdmann (which, nevertheless was far too long) and Anatomy of a Fall, which I hope to get around to reviewing here.
The idea was fascinating. It would show the disconnect between the sheltered, idyllic lives of senior Nazi officials charged with oversight of the death camps, and would emphasise how horrific the Holocaust was (by the way, and I say this with deep sadness, I don’t think it was as uniquely horrific as some do – not because it was less horrific than is commonly thought but because there were other genocides that were also horrific). I knew also that Jonathan Glazer is prepared to take risks and be brave in artistic terms.
In the end, I wasn’t as impressed as I hoped, although, as I say, I don ‘t criticize Jonathan Glazer for trying. Yes, the acting was excellent. Yes, the production values were impeccable. And above all, yest the sound was deeply chilling (I am glad it won out for the Oscar over Oppenheimer). For me, though, once one got past the idea, it was a bit flat. One critic opined that, rather than portraying the banality of evil, it portrayed the evil of banality. That’s a bit harsh, but I still say that it lacked the narrative development one would expect from a movie.
As I say, I am completely sympathetic to the idea as an experiment and I commend all those involved. And, I should say, my wife was deeply moved.
I am even more sympathetic after Jonathan Glazer’s brave acceptance speech. I realize that there were some parts of it that might have made even Jews who are opposed to Israel’s current behaviour uncomfortable, but I commend him for shaking things up in the face of obscene behaviour from Israel. I note that, since then, a number of Hollywood figures signed a letter refuting the speech. I also note, however, that the best they could do was assert Israel’s right to defend itself. Well sorry, but that’s not in dispute. But, as I right, the casualty figures stand at 32,000, mostly women and children. I heard yesterday from a surgeon, living in Ireland, who did a tour of duty in Gaza, and recounted a story of an eight year-old girl whose face was so badly burned that one could see her facial bones. She couldn’t be saved but, since the hospital didn’t have morphine, it took her hours to die – screaming in agony – on the hospital floor. Today I read again of how Israel is only allowing a trickle of aid into Gaza, even though there are ample supplies waiting on the borders. That simply can’t be justified under the self defence excuse.
So don’t peddle that crap about self defence. Because, in the words of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, that insults my intelligence. Ant that makes me really angry.
