/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