The Zone of Interest | 2023 | 'Best Picture' Oscar nominee | movie review
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- I review the 'Best Picture' Oscar nominee, 'The Zone of Interest', directed by Jonathan Glazer.
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Thank you, Bryan, for all of these 'Best Picture" reviews, which have been fantastic. From the clips you started showing, I immediately thought this was about the family that I saw some kind of documentary about years ago, or at least they featured in it, and even then it was the question of did they not care/did they not realize/did they block out what was happening on the other side of the garden wall. Understandable this is a one watch film, that was Schindler's List for me years ago.
I watched this yesterday actually and for the most part I agree with your arguments. It is indeed hammering home it's point and because there isn't all that much else of a story or intrigue (and maybe it can't really), I was also thinking this shouldn't be all that much longer as it is. But yeah, in terms of direction and acting it is phenomenal and I was also impressed with certain shots that showed a real scope of all the horrors going on even though you don't see any details. I do think I need to see it again though, if only for some elements in the plot that hopefully make more sense upon re-watch and some of the extra horrors of the leading character maybe get more into perspective when I watch it again, because that also wasn't really necessary for me at times. I did find the score (and also the sound for that matter) really fantastic though, but then Mica Levi also did a stellar job with Under the Skin which is also one of my absolute favourite films of the 2010's.
I saw this one last week, and I really appreciated it. I don't think it is one I am likely to revisit, but I thought it was for sure worth watching. I did think it works as a feature film, although I could see it being shortened a bit. A good companion piece, and a film that I was really devastated by when I finally watched it last year, is Son of Saul. It really immerses you in what is happening on the other side of that wall. The same filmmaker also made a short film called With a Little Patience that is available on RUclips which I also really recommend you check out, though I don't want to say more before you see it.
Oppenheimer is the best out of all the Oscar movies this past year
Damn straight!
Of the Best Picture nominees, Zone of Interest and Poor Things are the only films that actually deserve to be there. A lot of snubs this year, as always.
The Zone of Interest is a true testament to Hannah Ardent's 'The Banality of Evil', where everyday images are inseparable from violent actions. Many of the images in this film are so striking, like when Rudolf goes into the yard for a smoke, and the lit cigarette contrasts with smoke bellowing from a furnace in the distance. I disagree that it's light on character. Much like Michael Hanake, Glazer paints a picture of complex characters by way of minimalism, rather than relying on sentiment to tell us who a character is and what motivates them. Rudolph appears steely and unfeeling, but his repressed emotions manifest into physiological reactions, such as his stomach aches. At some level he understands the scale of his atrocious actions and is being nagged at by his subconcious, but chooses to compartmentalize those feelings. His decision to remain a part of the mechanism of death and willingly descend down the dark corridor is a perfect summation of what we've spent the last ninety minutes exploring. I never felt the time pass. Great film, though not my favorite of 2023.
I never said it was light on character. I said it was light on story. But in terms of showing us who these people are the film, and particularly the actors, does a wonderful job. I think this is a very well made film but I disagree that it deserves the nom over the likes of Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon or Past Lives (which I watched last night and was deeply moved by). Personally, I think Society of the Snow deserves a best picture nom over this. Still need to see Poor Things but, of those nominated for BP, it's the one I'm least excited about. I liked Killing of a Sacred Deer but I hated The Favorite.
Just out of interest, what was your favourite of last year?
@@BryanLomax A lot to unpack there as I have different feelings about all three of those films.
Scorsese had a solid decade of duds for me, but he really came back swinging with Wall Street, Silence and The Irishman. Killers of the Flower Moon is his first film since 2013 that is less than great. It's another 'Banality of Evil' story that fails where Zone of Interest succeeded. Oppenheimer was actually a pleasant surprise for me. It struggles to contain its sprawling story, but succeeds more than it fails. Past Lives was touching, but never moving. It relies far too much on sentimentality, but the aesthetic skill of the picture prevents that from being intolerable.
I didn't hate The Favorite, but it wasn't worthy of Best Picture and it might be my least favorite Lathimos film, with Dogtooth, Killing and Alps being his best. Poor Things ranks fourth for me. It's the movie Barbie wishes it could be.
Full disclosure: I hate the Oscars. I'm too aware of the politics behind the scenes and irritaed by the safe choices they make to actually take them seriously. Their 2023 Best Picture list is better than average, to be honest.
@@BryanLomax My top five were Last Summer, The Boy and the Heron, Yannick, May December and Birth/Rebirth. Pictures of Ghosts is excellent, as well, if we're not excluding documentaries.
@@JacobCorenthose without trying to sound condescending, I wonder if your thoughts on Past Lives might have something to do with age. I'm married with kids and there's just a lot in there that I could really relate to as a 43 year old man who remembers the dreams of youth but who has to accept the realities of being the adult that made the choices which brought me here. I think the film makes a great companion piece to Maestro, which I wasn't all that keen on. Past Lives tells us that love is a choice and that, once we've made our choices, we have a responsibility to commit to them and not be misled by simple feelings or desires. Maestro shows us the danger of what happens when we don't commit, when we do give in to desires that are fleeting. It breaks trust. Hurts those we love. It thought the characters in Past Lives were incredibly well drawn and way more relatable than the characters in any of the other BP nominations I've seen.
I do agree with you about the Oscars in general though. They are mostly bollocks!