'The Zone of Interest': A Disturbing Glimpse into the Banality of Evil

Jonathan Glazer's critically acclaimed film uses real-life experiences and artifacts to depict the indifference of a Nazi family living next to Auschwitz.

• Jonathan Glazer's new film 'The Zone of Interest' is a disturbing World War II drama about the banality of evil, set in the home of real-life Nazi Commandant Rudolf Höss, who lived next to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
• The film, which opened to a wider audience on January 7, 2024, has been critically acclaimed and has won or been nominated for multiple awards.
• The film chillingly depicts the Höss family's indifference to the horrors of the camp, focusing instead on their bourgeois comforts and career opportunities.
• Color-inverted sequences in the film depict a young Polish girl hiding food for the Auschwitz prisoners, a character based on a real-life Polish Resistance fighter who lived in the house where the film was shot.
• The film includes a song written by Auschwitz survivor Joseph Wulf, found by the Polish girl character, providing a rare voice for the victims in the film.

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