The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023) is a historical film featuring the Hoss family, who resided directly outside of the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Auschwitz was the largest labor and death camp created by the German Nazi party for the purpose of exterminating the Jewish population, a tragedy that has since been dubbed the Holocaust. Since the war’s end in 1945, much media has been produced to convey the horrific events that occurred and foster a greater sense of awareness for the tragedy, as well as pay homage to the millions of lives taken. Though Glazer’s take on a World War II movie was unique, expressing the events of the genocide primarily through sound instead of visuals, he is certainly not the first to produce poignant material based on the conflict. This poses the question: In 2023, why now?

One does not need to search far for an answer, as Glazer commented heavily on the film’s present-day significance in his 2024 Oscar acceptance speech. The director noted that the movie was not simply a look into the past but a means for humanity to “confront the present…[and] look [at] what we do now” (Glazer). He then specifies that the global conflict he is referencing is the occupation of Gaza, noting that casualties on both sides of the war have fallen victim to dehumanization that is not dissimilar from what was portrayed in his film.

Glazer’s remarks spurred much controversy amongst the public, especially in Hollywood, where the Jewish population was divided regarding how they viewed his perspective. He was misquoted multiple times in the media, and false claims were made about the film, including a tweet by Ben Shapiro that commented on an absence of Jewish characters entirely from the movie in order to dismiss them as an anonymous dead mass (Jewish characters were in fact present, just not as the principal roles).

One critical note is that The Zone of Interest premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023 and was first shown in theaters in December 2023. On October 7th, 2023,  which falls between these dates, there was an attack on attendants of the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel, a key turning point in the Israel-Hamas war. Though the Israel-Palestine conflict long predates this massacre, it is interesting to consider that Glazer crafted his film before this escalation. Have current events proved his original intent in creating this film to be all the more relevant? Or was the specific connection Glazer made in his speech a new meaning developed in light of recent events?

Information about Glazer’s speech (including a full transcript) and the public reaction were found in the following “Vox” article: https://www.vulture.com/article/oscars-2024-jonathan-glazer-speech-full-transcript.html