Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 Film, The Zone of Interest, takes a very different approach to what is made visible than most holocaust pieces. Instead of focusing on graphic depictions of violence or dehumanization, Glazer depicts the family life of an Auschwitz commandant and the mundanity of their day-to-day life.  Through this methodology, we learn a different side of nazism than is often depicted. We see how dedicated their whole family is to all facets of nazi ideology instead of just to the often-portrayed violence and hatred. All their children are stereotypically Aryan, Hoff’s son is in the Hitler youth, and when asked to move away to follow Hoff’s career, his wife pleads that their home represents the life the “Fuher” has preached. However, cinematically, it also shows things that are not often seen in a traditional film framework. On occasions during the film, the 180-degree rule of editing is broken, which entails the camera crossing over the axis of action- an axis kept to maintain spatial continuity in a scene. One example of this is when we see all angles of Rufus walking through the house garden at night. 

The scene starts with a wide angle of Rufus walking from right to left on the screen. 

The scene then snaps to a medial view of the shower.

Finally, the film cuts 90 degrees to now  be behind Rufus, and we see the entirety of that side of the garden. 

These shots together create a very unnatural and unnerving feeling, helping to build an aura of general fear for Rufus’s actions

This fear is capitalized on  in the next scene, perfectly illustrating what we don’t see in this film. We never see depictions of the violence that takes place just over the wall at Auschwitz. However, the audience is still made  extremely  aware of it.  We see Rufus approving designs for crematoriums and gas chambers. However, it’s made even more evident in the next scene. The scene opens with a long hold on Rufus, clouded by a plume of smoke.

At first, there are just the sounds of machinery before we hear pained screams of Jews being murdered. Rufus’ demeanor does not change, and the screams continue as the shot fades to white.

I think presenting the scene this way made the film more disturbing. It’s a holocaust film. We expect to see graphic violence, but when all we can do is hear blood-curdling screams and imagine the violence, it leaves a more profound impact as we become an active participant in the film and are now creating the violence in our own minds. I think this obstruction of the violence in this scene also helps to preserve the family in our minds. I don’t believe that we are supposed to root for the family, but I think we are supposed to stay connected and invested in them, which would be harder to maintain if we saw Rufus clearly partake in horrible violence.