“The Zone of Interest” disarms the banality of evil.

German Nazis go about their lives, growing their garden, celebrating the commandant’s birthday, shushing the children off to school, and drinking fine wine and listening and dancing to an orchestra at an elite party in Berlin.

Housewives at a kitchen table chit-chat about a dress they got from a Jewish woman, “the Jewess” as they call her. They select silk undergarments from a table as if dividing the cloths of Jesus as told in the Bible. A wife dabs a bit of red lippy from a lipstick container found in the pocket of a full-length mink coat that will be cleaned and mended and worn.

It’s a lovely side-by-side suburbanite scene, with walks through the woods to a nearby lake for a swim, rowing in a wooden canoe on a swift-flowing river and living in a big, fashionable house with servants and sit-down dinners.

And yet not too far off is the sound of muffled voices, chugging clouds of train locomotive smoke, random gunshots, and towering smoke from huge chimneys with the glow of fire at night reflected through the house’s sheer window curtains.

Everyone looks the other way. Except for the grandmother who visits and grows increasingly uncomfortable. She looks beyond the wall. She sees. She hears. She leaves.

In “The Zone of Interest,” the family lives next to Auschwitz. The husband’s first name is Rudolph. The wife’s first name is Helwig.

This is no ordinary family. This is Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Helwig (Sandra Hüller).

Höss is the German Nazi commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp. He, his wife and their five children and servants live in the big house next to Auschwitz beyond the wall.

The movie title, “The Zone of Interest,” refers to a German term, “Interessengebiet,” which the Nazis named the restricted zone around Auschwitz.

“The Zone of Interest,” written and directed by Jonathan Glazer (“Under the Skin,” 2013; “Birth,” 2004; “Sexy Beast,” 2000), is based on the 2014 novel of the same title by Martin Amis.

Cinematographer Lukasz Zal is said to have hidden 10 cameras in and around the house with no crew on set. Available light, and apparently not the typical movie lights, was used.

The film uses thermal imagery to depict a young Polish young girl placing apples on piles of ashes.

The horror-film like score is by Mica Levi. Sound design by Johnnie Burn.

The acting is superb and seamless. The film is in German with English subtitles.

“The Zone of Interest” is nominated for five Oscars: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, International Feature Film, and Sound.

“The Zone of Interest” is a stark, almost imperceptible representation of the evil at our doorstep, of the lies we tell ourselves to feather our own beds, of the betrayals we undertake of our neighbors and colleagues.

We may not live in a big home next to Auschwitz, but the Auschwitzes of the world are not far from our hearts and minds.

“All that we need to do for evil to win is say nothing,” my dad used tell me.

I visited Germany, or should I say, the two former Germanys, in 1976 for American Bicentennial commemorative concerts by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem in The Philharmonie Berlin and St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche), Leipzig.

When our tour bus drove the narrow streets in then East Germany past walls of churches still blasted from World War II with trees growing in the roofless sanctuary, my father, Paul, who accompanied me on the trip, asked the East German tour guide, pointedly, “When will they restore the churches?” The guide responded, the trace of a smirk in his voice, “Later.”

My parents traveled to Germany many times. My father traveled there more than my mother. My dad once stepped up to conduct the band at Oktoberfest in Munich. My mother was reluctant to return to Germany. I asked her why. “I looked at the faces of the older people there. I always wondered what they did during the war,” she told me.

Today, there’s War in Ukraine, War in Gaza, unrest in Africa, totalitarian regimes in North Korea, China, Russia and elsewhere.

The worldwide web brings it all to us, as if next door, to our doorsteps, in our hands, as The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde sang in ”Back On The Chain Gang” (1982): “The phone, the TV and the news of the world, Got in the house like a pigeon from hell.”

Someday, some may wonder what we did during the wars.

“The Zone Of Interest,”

MPAA PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.) for thematic material, some suggestive material and smoking; Genre: Drama, History, War; Run time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Distributed by A24.

Credit Reader’s Anonymous:

Martin Amis, author of “The Zone of Interest” novel, died May 19, 2023, the day the film based on his book had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Movie film locations included Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland.

Dilla, the family dog in the film, is Sandra Hüller’s pet dog, a black Weimeraner.

The Polish girl in the film is inspired by a woman named Alexandria, who as a 12-year-old member of the Polish resistance bicycled to Auschwitz to leave apples for starving prisoners.

The girl discovered a piece of music written by a prisoner, Joseph Wulf, which is heard in the film.

In 1947, Rudolph Höss was hanged for war crimes in Poland.

Theatrical Movie Domestic Weekend Box Office,

Feb. 16-18: Movie-goers “hearted” (insert heart emoji here) “Bob Marley: One Love,” the biography film about the late Jamaica reggae legend, opening at No. 1 with $27.7 million in 3,539 theaters for the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend (not including Feb. 19 holiday figures), $45.5 million, since opening Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.

The BMWU (Bob Marley and the Wailers Universe) ran circles around The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) as “Madame Web,” starring Dakota Johnson as the title Marvel Comics’ character, Cassandra “Cassie” Webb, opened as a surprising also-ran at No. 2 with $15.1 million in 4,013 theaters, $23.3 million since its Feb. 14 opening.

3. “Argylle” dropped two places from its two-week straight No. 1 run, with $4.7 million in 3,647 theaters, $36.4 million, three weeks. 4. “Migration” moved up one place, $3.7 million in 2,455 theaters, $114.8 million, nine weeks. 5. “The Chosen: 54 Episodes 4-6,” opening, $3.4 million in 2,228 theaters, $4.2 million since its Feb. 15 opening. 6. “Wonka” dropped two places, $3.4 million in 2,347 theaters, $209.8 million, 10 weeks. 7. “The Beekeeper” dropped four places, $3.2 million in 2,557 theaters, $59.8 million, six weeks. 8. “Anyone But You” dropped one place, $2.4 million in 2,020 theaters, $84.7 million, nine weeks. 9. “Lisa Frankenstein” dropped seven places, $2 million in 3,143 theaters, $7 million, two weeks. 10. “Land of Bad,” opening, $1.8 million in 1,120 theaters.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of Feb. 18 is subject to change.

Unreel,

Feb. 23:

“Drive-Away Dolls,”

R: Ethan Coen directs Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Matt Damon, Annie Gonzalez, C.J. Wilson, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal and Bill Camp in the Action, Comedy, Thriller. Two girls on a road trip to Tallahassee, Fla., encounter inept criminals. What could go wrong? Plenty.

“Ordinary Angels,”

PG: Jon Gunn directs Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Amy Acker, Nancy Travis, Tamala Jones, Drew Powell, Skywalker Hughes, Emily Mitchell and Dempsey Bryk in the Drama. A hairdresser rallies a community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically-ill young daughter. It’s based on a true story.

Movie opening date information from Internet Movie Database as of Feb. 18 is subject to change.

Five Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes