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The countless atrocities committed by the Nazis have been well-documented in the media, but I can’t recall having ever seen a movie that opted to focus on the cold banality of the lives of the Germans who were actively engaged in or complicit with such incredible cruelty. Filmmaker Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin), inspired by Martin Amis’ novel, has decided to tap into this underexplored area, and the chilling result will haunt viewers for days.
Focusing on Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Freidel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller, both perfectly cast), who are raising their family in a well-appointed home directly adjacent to the camp, we watch them go about their relatively mundane existences. They live better than many of their fellow Germans and have local girls working as servants to help keep up the house, but otherwise much of their time is spent tending to trivial day-to-day tasks, aside from the odd bit of Nazi business that Rudolf attends to from his home office.
Nothing here is truly normal however, a point made very clear shortly into the film when the camera changes its view of the family’s yard to expose the guard tower just on the other side of the brick wall that abuts the property. Given the proximity to the notorious camp, its noises permeate every aspect of the family’s lives. The low hum of the furnaces is ever-present, punctuated by screams and gunshots. Frequently trains can be heard bringing more prisoners, puffs of steam appearing over the tree line. Somehow, the Höss’ and their children go about their day as if they don’t even notice it.
To celebrate one of the children’s birthdays, Hedwig’s mother comes to stay. Initially impressed by the large, well-maintained home and garden, she casually wonders aloud if a Jewish neighbor might be imprisoned next door, complaining that she lost her chance to claim her curtains. As the pair sit on the patio and sounds from the camp impose themselves, she turns to glance at the wall, at least a little discomfited. At night, the sounds of suffering disturb her sleep and she looks out the window, only to see ash and bright flames erupting from a smokestack. She leaves the following morning.
While the atrocities next door are felt throughout almost the entire movie, we never see them. Everything is instead conveyed through Johnnie Burn’s meticulous sound design and the effect is powerful, especially in contrast to the mundanity of everything shown. Cinematographer Łukasz Żal’s striking staging avoids overly prettifying the home while still maintaining a painterly artfulness, often using static, embedded cameras to give the proceedings the sort of voyeuristic feel of reality shows like Big Brother.
A movie may not be the best place to figure out exactly how people can react so blithely to such large-scale inhumanity, so Glazer doesn’t really try to do so. It is enough however to be reminded that the behavior is not only something that we as a species are capable of, but that it is necessary for such evil to be enacted. Hopefully the reminder will help to prevent it from happening again. ★★★★★
RATED PG-13 FOR THEMATIC MATERIAL, SOME SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL, AND SMOKING.
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I don't know of another movie, ever, that has so perfectly captured the banality and flat-out bizarreness of evil.
I really can't recommend it enough but it's a tough watch. Horror is lurking in the background throughout.
PS: If you have the chance to visit Auschwitz, you should. Or any concentration camp now open to the public. The best way for us to never revisit this monster-level bullshit on humanity again is to have to go confront it in all its ugliness, face to face. (Like when you walk around Berlin and you see all the Stolpersteine -- "never forget" -- memorials embedded in the city's sidewalks). What Steven Spielberg is doing with The Shoah Foundation will tower over any of his accomplishments in cinema. Preserve the truth. Witness.
Mar 29, 2024
When Russia launched its attack on Ukraine in 2022, it was rightfully met with near-universal condemnation, which lead to an onslaught of aid from around the world. As the war has dragged on though, it has become more and more politicized, with some beginning to speak out against offering any further support to the embattled nation. As the alarming images of the first days, weeks, and months of the siege began to fade from the public’s consciousness, it became easier for those who had no personal stake in the matter to simply stop caring. Documentary filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov’s Oscar-nominated film 20 Days in Mariupol aims to fix that by offering up a stark reminder of just how cruel Putin’s Russia has been towards their neighbor.
Chernov shows us the footage he captured when he and other journalists decided to stay in the city of Mariupol long after others had fled due to the increasing closeness of Russian troops. Shelling can be heard from the nearby countryside and very quickly escalates to bombs landing on the city’s residential neighborhoods, to the shock and horror of everyone involved. Chaos and despair take over as some residents begin to flee and others with nowhere to go wander around the city in a daze. Mere minutes into the film we encounter a young girl, crying while huddled in a basement to hide from the bombs, who expresses aloud that she “doesn’t want to die.” Things only get bleaker from there.
When Mstyslav comes to a hospital, we meet the harried staff, who are scrambling to save as many victims as they can, but with dwindling supplies are severely limited in what they can do. A doctor, angry at Putin for ordering the bombing, directs the filmmaker to another room to have him film the bloody results, and it is near impossible not to feel both rage and sorrow along with him. Graphic imagery of the injured and the dead appears throughout, emphasizing the true horror of war in ways that are rarely seen in documentary films, and it will haunt viewers long after seeing it. Harsher still are the wails of parents as they learn that their children couldn’t be saved.
Eventually Mstyslav leaves the hospital to try and get his footage out for the world to see and he is confronted with a city in ruin. The images of collapsed buildings lose some of the power in comparison to what preceded them, however when he comes upon another hospital, this one with a maternity ward, that had just been bombed, the downward spiral continues anew, as soldiers and emergency workers scramble to rescue as many as possible from the ruined building.
At a minimum, 20 Days in Mariupol should rekindle support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia while reminding anyone who might be confused on the matter that Putin is not a figure to be revered. It will hopefully also serve as a demonstration that war as a whole is a contemptible undertaking in which there are only losers, so that others will strive to avoid it entirely (naïve, I know, given current global events). I’ve never seen a movie like this, and the part of me that has its imagery now permanently imprinted upon it wishes that perhaps I never had, but it is important to see, to fully understand what’s happening in the world. This harrowing journey through a devastated city will always serve as a reminder of humanity’s capacity for cruelty and will hopefully inspire more of us to stand against it when we see it. ★★★★★
NOT RATED. CONTAINS GRAPHIC AND DISTRESSING IMAGES OF REAL VICTIMS, INCLUDING CHILDREN, AND STRONG LANGUAGE.
Feb 2, 2024
this film is an amalgamation of some of the most terrifying and dividing topics I wrestle with everyday. over the purely horrific destruction and decomposition of our planet, over the scare of poor health, over the moral standings of different christian denominations and the hypocrisy of megachurches, over the feeling of dread and darkness that humans carry within themselves since the dawn of time… over all of this, stretches the cast of God’s shadow. how can faith stand intact in front of all this? how can we trust the Church to carry out righteousness and awareness? how can we help others in crisis? how can we forgive us for our own mistakes? and how can God forgive us?
I have a thousand more questions and then more.
an exorbitant amount of doubts and things to consider, like where does activism end and terrorism begins? who are the zealots? where do the lines start to blur?
so much underlying empathy, struggle, anger, love and history beneath First Reformed, yet everything raises to the perfect level just above the surface and the result is a wonderfully crafted film. the ending haunts me.
PS: I sincerely wanna thank the person that recommended this to me here on PYI!!
Feb 22, 2025
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Apr 27, 2024
Mar 2, 2024
When Terry Hayes’ debut novel I Am Pilgrim burst onto the scene a decade ago, it seemed to announce the arrival of a major new talent in the thriller scene. I absolutely loved the book and was very excited to see what he would come up with when his next title, The Year of the Locust, was announced for release in 2016. Unfortunately, the year came and went without the book, as did several more, making it seem as if it might never be published. Lo and behold, 8 years later, it’s finally here, and as it turns out it was worth the wait.
The book is written from the perspective of Kane, a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA. His job is to get into the places that Americans aren’t supposed to go and get back out again without being caught, and he is one of the best in the business. When we meet him, he is being sent to the borderlands of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran to try to gather information about an increasingly powerful terrorist group known as the Army of the Pure. Intel has suggested that they are planning a major attack that will endanger countless people around the world and so it is imperative that he can learn more about the organization so they can be stopped before it is too late. Of course, with these kinds of missions there is a lot that can go wrong, and Kane finds himself in some very bad scenarios, with only his wits and training to help him survive.
Written in a conversational tone and short, punchy chapters (some barely a page long), the novel’s roughly 800 pages fly by. Kane is an easy character to like, and the book can sometimes feel like he’s a friend telling you a story. That story happens to be relentlessly suspenseful though, filled with some of the tensest moments of any book I’ve read in years. I would frequently find myself feeling a palpable sense of relief at the conclusion of a mission, having been every bit as invested in its outcome as the characters involved. Speaking of which, while Kane is the star, the other characters are equally enjoyable to spend time with and help to further draw in the reader.
Hayes has clearly done his homework when it comes to spycraft, providing fascinating insights into that world throughout. Everything is so convincing that it can be hard to tell what’s in actual use or the author’s invention, and while it is all thoroughly explained it never gets boring.
The finale takes the story into some truly surprising territory that readers will never see coming and which raises the stakes to truly astronomical levels. Parts of it require some suspension of disbelief, but Hayes pulls off the shift so well that most readers won’t have any problem going along for the ride. 10 years between books is a long time to wait, but when the result is this thrilling, inventive, and even surprisingly emotional it seems like it paid off. Though, it’s still very early into the year, I’d be surprised if I read a more entertaining book than this one in 2024. ★★★★★
Feb 5, 2024