/414/ Zone of Banality or the Authority of Evil?

On Zone of Interest and Holocaust film.

 

[Patreon Exclusive]

 

We discuss the winner of the Oscar for Best International Feature Film – one that split opinion, among critics and on the pod too!

• How does the film fit in the pantheon of Holocaust films? Is it a Holocaust film?

• How well does it deal with its obvious subject matter: the banality of evil?

• Is the film neutral and detached or preachy, condescending, moralising?

• What to make of the commentary around the film, including director Jonathan Glazer's statements? How does it relate to Israel/Palestine?

• What to make of present-day Auschwitz? Should it be preserved?

Link:

• The Zone of Interest is an extreme form of 'Holokitsch', Richard Brody, New Yorker
• Is The Zone of Interest simply uninteresting? Toby Marshall, Substack
• The Zone of Interest is about the danger of ignoring atrocities – including in Gaza, Naomi Klein, The Guardian
• The Zone of Interest Reminds Us How Easy It Is to Ignore a Genocide on Your Doorstep, Juliet Jacques, Novara
• The Banality of Evil is No Longer Banal, Maren Thom, Café americain
• One-star review of Zone of Interest