Martin Amis – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Review by Diane Carson

September 23, 2023October 8, 2023 Diane Carson Auschwitz, cannes film festival, Christian Friedel, holocaust, Jonathan Glazer, Łukasz Żal, Martin Amis, NYFF 2023, Rudolf Höss, Sandra Hüller, telluride film festival, The Zone of Interest

It is a daunting challenge to present a cinematic experience that does justice to the Holocaust without repeating previous worthy considerations of the unfathomable horrors. Stretching back to Alain Resnais’ 1956 Night and Fog, important fiction and nonfiction works have honored the victims’ memories amidst various dramatizations of Nazi inhumanity. Writer/director Jonathan Glazer has forged a new approach in The Zone of Interest, a narrative of overwhelming, astonishing restraint. Loosely based on Martin Amis’ 2014 novel, Glazer’s narrative enters the pantheon of unforgettable films on the Holocaust, adding another chapter to our understanding of the banality of evil.

Reviews

OUT OF BLUE – Review by MaryAnn Johanson

March 21, 2019March 22, 2019 MaryAnn Johanson 0 Comments Carol Morley, Mamie Gummer, Martin Amis, Night Train, Out of Blue, patricia clarkson

An astrophysicist is found shot to death in her observatory, and alcoholic homicide detective Patricia Clarkson catches the case. Alas, this limp noodle of a noir criminally drains Clarkson of her deliciously eccentric charisma. Only slightly less criminal is Out of Blue’s attempts to pull off a slow-burn mix of pseudoscientific philosophizing with worn-out-cop clichés.