You are greeted with a black screen, pads slowly rise until their ethereal dissonance engulfs the cinema. Whispers surround you, their words are unintelligible. The uncomfortable soundscape lingers until finally, a familiar sound can be heard, quiet chirping takes you out of the abstract and brings you to the real world, where you find comfort in a family having a picnic by the lake.
"The Zone of Interest" opening scene
This is the opening scene of The Zone of Interest, and in my opinion, the best example of what makes the use of sound in this movie so brilliant. The music creates tension, which is then released when you first meet the characters. At this point, you don’t know who they are, but when you do discover they are the family of Rudolf Höss, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, your relief turns into unpleasantness. The sound creates conflict and contradictions in you, which is why it’s so great.
While designing sound for films, what’s around the camera is just as important as what’s being shown. The audience needs to be transported into the movie and experience what the characters are experiencing. This concept can and should be subverted when the story calls for it but in cases such as The Zone of Interest, where there is no apparent plot, feeling like you are next to Auschwitz becomes the movie’s core.
The Zone of Interest portrays its characters as ordinary, their routine and habits are shown as completely normal. What you see on the screen is a couple having a conversation, kids going to school, and a beautiful garden, but this thin veil completely falls apart while you hear the horrific sounds coming from beyond the wall. Their screams haunt the background of the film and you can’t help but feel extreme discomfort and sadness.
At this point, your feelings become conflicting with the apathy and emptiness shown by the main characters, challenging you and your sense of duty. How can they continue to live their normal lives while beyond their garden walls, the most inhumane things are happening? But simultaneously, you think about how you would act in a similar situation and how you would be different from them. Glazer’s speech at the Oscars is no surprise when you consider this.
What makes the sound in The Zone of Interest so amazing is not some incredible technical feat that only audiophiles would understand. It instead shines in its simplicity and effectiveness in portraying the movie’s themes. Sound rarely plays such a big role in a story in the way we see here, from the score to the sound design, audio is always in the spotlight, reminding us of what we wish to ignore. The movie is a masterpiece and one of my favourite movies from 2023.
Written by: Bernardo Hita
08/04/2024
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