War on Film – The Zone of Interest

Ever since Alain Resnais first addressed the subject in the mid-1950s, several films over more recent decades have concerned the Holocaust. Some of these pictures have tried realistically to depict the horror of the extermination camps. Others, like Schindler’s List or most recently The Tattooist of Auschwitz, have told the stories of those being saved or the lucky ones who survived, set against the backdrop of the horror, but ending on an upbeat note. All of these approaches raise problems. How can modern, well-fed actors suggest the appalling nature of starvation and brutality that was at the centre of camp life? How can scenes shot in a modern studio with today’s sensibilities ever do