A24 has released a new trailer for its upcoming Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, which is set at Auschwitz. The film tells the haunting story of real-life German SS officer Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, who raised their children in a farmhouse next door to Auschwitz.
This subject has been on the forefront of my mind lately as I recently took my daughter to the Auschwitz exhibit at the Reagan Library, and it was an incredibly heavy and emotional experience.
This movie is based loosely on Martin Amis’ 2014 book of the same name, and it was directed by Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin). The movie stars Christian Friedel as Rudolf and Sandra Hüller as Hedwig, along with Daniel Holzberg, Ralph Herforth and Sascha Maaz.
The director said of the film: “The great crime and tragedy is that human beings did this to other human beings. It’s very convenient to distance ourselves from them as much as we can, because we think we don’t behave that way, but we should be less certain than that.”
The description of the book that the film is based on reads: “Martin Amis first tackled the Holocaust in 1991 with his bestselling novel Time’s Arrow. He returns again to the Shoah with this astonishing portrayal of life in “the zone of interest,” or “kat zet”—the Nazis’ euphemism for Auschwitz. The narrative rotates among three main characters: Paul Doll, the crass, drunken camp commandant; Thomsen, nephew of Hitler’s private secretary, in love with Doll’s wife; and Szmul, one of the Jewish prisoners charged with disposing of the bodies. Through these three narrative threads, Amis summons a searing, profound, darkly funny portrait of the most infamous place in history.”
The film premiered this year at Cannes Film Festival, and it won the Grand Prix, which is the fest’s second most prestigious award. The Zone of Interest is set to premiere in the U.S. on December 8th.
