TIFF 2023: The Zone of Interest Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

When it comes to this year’s Cannes Film Festival, most audiences will think of Anatomy of a Fall, the Palme d’Or winner. However, the other film that left the festival with plenty of hype was The Zone of Interest, the winner of the Cannes Grand Prize. A beautifully-shot film for sure, its subject matter may be a point of contention. Based on the book of the same name by Martin Amis, it is a slice-of-life drama that is Nazi-adjacent but for the most part, it is about the complicated relationship between a husband and wife as they tried to build a life for themselves and their family. Despite the problematic subject matter, it only lies on the periphery, just enough for audiences to know it’s there. At the end of the day, the potential is here and while all the supporting pieces are well-executed, its Achilles heel is its pacing. Being in the moment is one thing, and it could work for a period of time, but sometimes, stories need to move things along before audiences get bored,

As mentioned, The Zone of Interest is centered around the lives and the day-to-day relationship of Rudolf Höss (Friedel), the commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife Hedwig (Hüller) as they try to make a life for themselves and their family in a home next to the camp. Appearing just like any other family from the period, while Rudolf was at work, Hedwig staying at home and tended to the household and the children (but a small army of servants did a lot of the work). Meanwhile, they also loved fishing and swimming in the surrounding lakes. Their lives weren’t always easy but they were happy, as the various atrocities that took place as Auschwitz were happening next to them. Eventually, their happy life came under attack though unfazed, Rudolf and Hedwig vowed to make it work in spite of changing circumstances for the good of their children. Unfortunately, there’s not much to the film other than that.

That being said, as the cold reality at the root of its fantasy world sets in, one can’t help but step back as the empathy one may have developed for its characters slowly slips away and the divide between story and audiences grows. A deeper focus on the characters outside of the context of what they represent (the film has a way of constantly reminding audience of where they are and who they are) would have made for a better experience, instead of having one suffer at the expense of the other. Inevitably raising questions through its different perspective, it’s unable or uninterested in answering them in a satisfying way. Though it may be beautiful to look at and its score impeccable, that’s what it all comes down to. 

In the end, The Zone of Interest offers a different kind of holocaust drama but its problematic perspective and cold presentation will make it a challenge.

*still courtesy of Elevation Pictures*

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.