The Zone of Interest” (2024), a film centered on Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp (hereafter referred to as Auschwitz), presents a series of scenes that are strikingly beautiful and luminous. As is widely known, Auschwitz, operated under the Nazi regime, remains infamous as “one of humanity’s greatest atrocities” and “the site of the worst crime in human history.” The facility was constructed in the outskirts of Oświęcim, in what is now southern Poland, during the German occupation. Under the command of Rudolf Höss, countless Jews were systematically murdered between 1940 and 1945. The sheer scale of the atrocities has made it impossible to determine an exact death toll, with estimates ranging from 1 million to 2.5 million.

The film is set in the home of Rudolf Höss, where his family resides. Even in wartime, the house holds a semblance of daily life, with child-rearing and conversations between husband and wife continuing unremarkably. This routine unfolds steadily, yet the audience begins to sense an unsettling feeling—something about this home is deeply wrong.

Is it the way the servants are treated like air?
Is it the wife’s joy in wearing clothes taken from someone else?
Is it the incessantly barking dogs?
Is it the peculiar behavior of the children?

No—it’s the “sound.” Through the sounds, one begins to realize that something is happening “outside” the house.

Yes, Auschwitz is located right next to Höss’s house. The sounds of a boiler burning something, dry gunshots, German commands, screams, and the sound of trains transporting people—these are the “sounds” that surround the Höss family as they live. If one has a sense of decency, one would imagine the source of these sounds. It would be unbearable to live in such a place (in fact, some tried to escape). Just beyond the wall lies hell. Yet, right next door, normal life continues, with people tending to the flowers in the garden. Mrs. Höss does not want to let go of this environment. To her, this house is the heaven she has longed for.

The Zone of Interest is filmed using a documentary-style approach. In fact, the filming took place in a house near Auschwitz, using only natural light with minimal use of artificial lighting. Fixed cameras were set up within the mansion, and the actors performed in an environment as if they were truly living there. Additionally, detailed interviews were conducted with people who had knowledge of that time, and clothing and props from the era were used.

There are several strange scenes in the film. Despite being shot entirely in color, the film occasionally switches to negative images, where light and dark are reversed. Although the details are not explicitly shown, a young female servant is seen transporting “heavenly” food to “hell.” Once this act is discovered, the woman is killed for “treason.” The mode of transport between heaven and hell is a bicycle. It seems almost like a fable, but this story is based on a true account. There was a Polish girl named Aleksandra who, every night, rode her bicycle to Auschwitz to deliver food to the prisoners. The bicycle she used in real life is featured in the film. Although the amount of food she carried was likely small, it must have been a glimmer of hope for the Jewish prisoners.

Still, why are humans capable of such horrifying acts? In the film, there is a scene where a person presents “methods of efficiently burning people to death,” as if they were increasing the productivity of a factory. The person who comes up with this method and operates it was once an “ordinary person” and still thinks of themselves as “ordinary.” Human madness is not a tale from a distant world; it is likely right next to us. Many people may find it difficult to watch or hear about such cruelty. However, the process of confronting the closeness of madness through this film, although sad, may be a necessary act for us.

Text_Hideki Inoue

🎬CYCLE CINEMA STORAGE🎬
#01 “The Bicycle Thief”
#02 “Project A”
#03 “Shoot for tomorrow!”(origin title “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”)
#04 “The Kid With a Bike (Le gamin au vélo)”
#05 “Izakaya Choji”
#06 “Cinema Paradiso”
#07 “Kids Return”
#08 “PERFECT DAYS”
#09 “Kramer vs. Kramer”
#10 “E.T.”
#11 “Gachi-Boshi”
#12 “Yesterday”
#13 “Wadjda”
#14 “The Zone of Interest”

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Text＿Hideki Inoue
I am from Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. I work as a writer and editor. My hobbies include hot baths, skiing, and fishing. Although I have no personal connection, I am independently conducting research on Shiga Prefecture. I prefer an active fishing style called “RUN & GUN,” which involves moving around actively instead of staying in one place. Purchasing a car to transport bicycles for this style of cycling seems like putting the cart before the horse.

Illusutration＿Michiharu Saotome

Post Date：2025.01.17