“Zone of interests” loosely refers to the famous war novel “Business Zone” by Martin Amis from 2014, which describes the love between Rudolf Hösse and his wife Hedwig, with whom he had five children. The film shows their everyday life, which takes place in the shadow of the crematoria. Critics called the production “a terrifying look at the banality of evil” (Indiewire) and “terrifying and extremely necessary” in modern times (Vanity Fair).
“Glazer managed to make a film that breaks the numbness and reminds us that evil is never trivial. That evil has a face, that it can grow on any ground. It is an artistically sublime, conscious in every detail and well-constructed, but above all, piercing film. , which gradually pushes the viewer more and more firmly into the chair. And although this embrace of the painting is uncomfortable, although it hurts, you want to endure it – until the end,” wrote Anna Tatarska in her review for Interia.
The production, which was shot in Oświęcim, was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The photos are the work of two-time Oscar nominee Łukasz Żal. Ewa Puszczyńska (Extreme Emotions), who previously had a hand in the successes of “Ida” and “Cold War”, is responsible for the production of the film on the Polish side.
“Strefa Biznesu” is gaining more and more recognition among critics and viewers. The film directed by Jonathan Glazer won three statuettes at the recently concluded BAFTA awards ceremony. James Wilson, accepting the award, joked about winning in the Outstanding British and Foreign Language Film categories. “Maybe it is because it was a film made by people from Great Britain. It was shot entirely in Poland, every day with a crew consisting largely of Poles and a largely German cast,” he said.
Wilson also referred to the walls still being built and current events. “These walls are nothing new either before, during or after the Holocaust, and now it seems obvious that we should care about innocent people being killed in Gaza or Yemen in the same way we think about innocent people being killed in Mariupol or in Israel. Thank you for appreciating a film that asks us to think in these spaces,” added the producer. “Strefa biznes” also received a statuette for sound.
The Polish-British production still has a chance to win an Oscar. “Strefa Biznesu” received as many as five nominations – for best film, best director, best adapted screenplay, best sound, and best international film. “We have a wonderful and unique film, which I have no hesitation in calling a work of art. I already have five nominations and I think one of them will turn into an Oscar,” said producer Ewa Puszczyńska. “And if not, too bad, it won’t change the fact that we have a great film,” she added.