Terrifying is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the film world…but it’s not the word you’d think would describe The Zone of Interest, at least not by the first few seconds of the trailer. Budding editors, take note, this is how you cut a trailer together.
The trailer opens on an idyllic countryside, think The Sound of Music, families are seen just being together, wives making dinner, husbands reading the paper. Norman Rockwell would be proud of the scene set at the start of this trailer. Then the hammer drops, even if subtlety. These beautiful vistas, these “loving” families, are all those surrounding Auschwitz concentration camp. The footage barely even hints at the evil lying beneath, a far away shot of a Nazi uniform here, a ominous tone there, it’s just enough.
Setting this stage is probably the most important thing to make a movie like this, based off the 2014 novel, because you have to remove all the cinematic evil that’s been layered on top of what happened there. The novel, which focused on a love triangle told via three narrators, intends to paint a picture of normal on top of extraordinary evil. This has been the sociologic case study of our time, what would the average person have done if this situation was upon them. Would they do what’s right, or sacrifice others for the good of their own family?
If the trailer is any indication, I smell more awards in A24’s future. The film marks director Jonathan Glazer’s first since 2013’s Under the Skin, and earned the Grand Prix award after its Cannes debut. Those here in the DMV can also check out The Zone of Interest this weekend at the Middleburg Film Festival, ahead of a theatrical release on December 15th.
