A24’s Oscar-nominated film,The Zone of Interest, is groundbreaking in more ways than one, even down to that eerie opening title card that seems to last an eternity before the plot actually kicks off.Based on the acclaimed novelof the same name by Martin Amis, director Jonathan Glazer’s somewhat experimental new feature has been turning heads and buzzing amid this awards season.
There are a number offilms about the Holocaust, so we took a closer look at the ones that fans ofTheZone of Interestmight also find particularly interesting and similar in nature. This list, of course, doesn’t just feature Holocaust films, but, instead, offers films with a similar atmosphere, style, or tone. FromUnder the SkintoAnatomy of a Fall, here are 10 movies like the BAFTA-winningThe Zone of Interestto watch next.
The Zone of Interest
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10Under the Skin (2013)
Under the Skin
Oscar-nominee Scarlett Johanssen has played a variety of roles over the years, but Glazer’s previous filmUnder the Skinis perhaps her most unique — next to her AI voice role inHer,of course. Here, she plays an alien disguised as a beautiful woman who drives around Scotland attempting to lure unsuspecting men into her van. Once there, she seduces and destroys, presumably for the sake of consumption.Filmed with hidden camerasand other experimental components in mind, Glazer continued his uniquely cinematic success withThe Zone of Interest, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for him.
How It’s Like The Zone of Interest
It won’t take a cinephile to see plainly thatUnder the SkinandThe Zone of Interestare directed by the same guy. Both are experimental in nature, with a distinct visual style that leaves certain major plot points open-ended to thrilling effect. Musical accompaniment boosts a handful of scenes in each of Glazer’s films here, but the most unnerving moments in both films perhaps come when there is no background score, and we’re left with these eerily long, thought-provoking takes.Stream on Max.
9The Pianist (2002)
The Pianist
The Pianisttook home multiple Oscars and rightfully so, even if its director is not someone to be particularly celebrated. The landmark film was adapted from Wladyslaw Szpilman’s autobiography about the Polish Jewish musician for radio (played by Adrien Brody) who sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins, and the Nazis take over. Watch as he tragically loses his entire family on his journey to survive which is brutal and often hard to watch.
Fans of the gritty WWII edge that comes withThe Zone of Interestwill surely find a similar groundbreaking filmmaking style in Roman Polanski’s 2002 masterpiece. Neither film holds anything back in depicting the brutal nature of Nazis and their allies, even down to the non-soldier family members inThe Zone of Interest.Both films also feature Nazi characters that have rather sympathetic character traits — inThe Pianist, it is the soldier who comes to Wladyslaw’s rescue, played to perfection by Thomas Kretschmann.Rent on Prime Video or Apple TV.
8Schindler’s List (1993)
Arguably Steven Spielberg’s finest film to date,Schindler’s Listgoes monochrome, even though it was made in the 1990s, to thrilling and emotional effect. The story follows businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) who arrives in Krakow during WWII and joins the Nazi party. He staffs his factory with Jewish workers and when the SS chief, Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) gets involved Schindler struggles to keep his employees protected, including Itzhak Stern (Sir Ben Kingsley).
Like Glazer inThe Zone of Interest, Spielberg often chooses to omit any sort of musical score when depicting certain horrific Nazi acts. Just as Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) seemingly isn’t fazed by his overseeing of extermination after extermination, so is Goeth in his day-to-day inSchindler’s List. When the musical score fades out, in each film we’re left with hearing the horrifying background noise of the nearby concentration camps.Rent on Prime Video or Apple TV.
13 Movies Steven Spielberg Almost Directed
Steven Spielberg has gone on to direct some of the best films of the last century. This came at the cost of missing out on some great opportunities.
7Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Inglourious Basterds
Inglourious Basterdsis set in the first year of Germany’s occupation of France, where Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) assembles a team of Jewish soldiers for the sake of “killin' Nazis.” It proves not so easy, however, once Hans Landa (Oscar winner Christoph Waltz) enters the picture and seeks to thwart their mission to blow up a movie theater full of SS officials… including Hitler himself.
Just likeThe Zone of Interest,Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 masterpiecetakes a uniquely alternative angle in depicting the Nazi reign during WWII. The most shocking moments in both these films don’t even involve the brutal slaying of innocent Jewish people, but rather the psychological nature of the gripping characters. Both of these films effectively add surprising layers to their central Nazi characters, creating a uniquely shocking juxtaposition of charisma and villainism.
6A Hidden Life (2019)
A Hidden Life
After a couple of questionable films that lacked really any sort of plot,Oscar nominee Terrence Malicksuccessfully returns to more plot-driven material withA Hidden Life, which chronicles the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in WWII. The Austrian farmer is faced with the threat of execution for treason, and this three-hour epic becomes tragic but beautiful as Franz’s spirit remains ever alive amid the turmoil.
Malick offers hard-hitting and thought-provoking material about the Nazi reign here, just as Glazer does inThe Zone of Interest.Both films thrive in their quieter, non-violent moments during such a horrid time in Nazi-occupied Europe. It’s a uniquely alternative approach to showing sides of the Nazi reign, besides just thrusting us right into the gas chambers and other horrors of the concentration camps.
5Son of Saul (2015)
Son of Saultakes place over 48 hours as we watch the titular Hungarian prisoner working at Auschwitz Crematoriums who is tasked with burying the corpse of a boy he perceives as his own son. Things turn tricky when he attempts to salvage the body and find a rabbi to help. It’s a gripping tale of rebellion and following your heart and comes as no surprise that it took home an Oscar in 2016.
This POV-type stunner that isSon of Saulthrusts you right into the terrors of Auschwitz, just likeThe Zone of Interestplaces you literally right next to the death camps, where the Höss family leads their seemingly peaceful existence. Both films often rely on off-screen sounds to evoke the horrors of the concentration camps; with Son of Saul, the Nazi violence is often out of focus to unnerving effect, since we’re centered on Saul the entire time.Rent on Prime Video or Apple TV.
4Mudbound (2017)
Following the success ofPariah(2011),acclaimed filmmaker Dee Reeshelmed yet another groundbreaking movie, whose below-the-line crew consisted primarily of women. It’s another film tied to WWII, particularly in the aftermath, when racism is still aplenty in the southern U.S. InMudbound, the Jacksons (Black) and the McAllans (white) are forced to share the same property as they struggle with hardship as they try to make ends meet. Featuring a stellar cast led by Carey Mulligan and Jason Mitchell, this Netflix feature is not to be missed.
Mudboundevokes similar vibes toThe Zone of Interestin the sense that the two families in focus in Mudbound are attempting to live a peaceful existence amid a tense, discriminatory period of history. Just as we see sheds of humanity in the Höss family residence, we see bright spots on the McAllan property, despite the palpable racism in other spots. If only a character like Mudbound’s Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) could show up at the Höss residence and knock some sense into them.
3The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
In the 2008 film, 8-year-old Bruno befriends a Jewish child his age named Shmuel. The boys develop a heartfelt friendship until things turn tricky, as Bruno’s family plans to move into a new location elsewhere. While thefilm was criticizedby scholars for being historically inaccurate, there’s no denying the emotional core at the heart of this tricky story set against a horrific backdrop.
BothThe Zone of InterestandThe Boy in the Striped Pajamascenter on a father figure who oversees a WWII concentration camp. The depiction of Nazi-allied children in both films has a lasting impact on you, especially if you’re raising a real-life family of your own. Plus, in terms of similarities, it’s interesting to note that the plots of both films are similar in that they involve Nazi families relocating.
2Afire (2023)
Afirefollows a conflicted writer named Leon (Thomas Schubert) who vacations with his friends along the Baltic Sea. His seemingly uneventful retreat is thrown for a loop when they meet Nadja (Paula Beer), a mysterious woman who happens to be staying at the same house. As the daunting forest fire draws closer, tensions escalate as Leon struggles to finish his novel.Afirehad a successful festival circuit and is worth a tune-in for indie film lovers everywhere.
Directed by Christian Petzold,Afirehas a similar, somewhat unassuming tone asThe Zone of Interest. InAfire, lovers quarrel and embrace amid a terrifying wildfire backdrop; inThe Zone of Interest, families quarrel and entertain amid a terrifying Holocaust backdrop. Both films also feature morally conflicted characters that keep us glued to the screen until the credits roll.Stream on The Criterion Channel.
1Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Anatomy of a Fall
Here, Sandra Hüller plays a writer who is coincidentally named Sandra, and we watch as her family life is thrown for a loop at their secluded home in the French Alps when her husband is found dead. Sandra becomes suspect No. 1, as a brutal courtroom trial plays out, with prosecuting attorneys determined to convict her.Anatomy of a Fallis a wonderful addition to the courtroom drama realm of cinema and will be dissected for years to come.
Fans ofOscar-nominated actress Sandra Hüller(co-star ofThe Zone of Interest) should check out her other recent hit filmAnatomy of a Fallif they haven’t already. It’s a shoo-in for at least one Academy Award trophy this year, just likeThe Zone of Interest, and offers the famed German actress an even meatier role than Glazer’s Holocaust film. On top of that, in both films, Hüller plays a morally ambiguous mother who keeps us guessing at almost every turn.
