The Zone of Interest: Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture 2024

When the curtain rises at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the world of cinema holds its breath. It happens once a year. As if it were Mount Olympus with its gods, the great figures of the seventh art dance through Hollywood towards the most acclaimed awards in the industry. The Oscars. Although it has been the Academy’s faithful intention for decades, it hasn’t always portrayed the reality of cinema beyond North American borders; a trend that is rapidly changing and finds its seed in the now-defunct category of Best Foreign Language Film. The celebration of worldwide cinema is now known as Best International Feature Film.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST WINS

While it is true that anything can happen in cinema, this year ‘The Zone of Interest’ appeared a front runner in this category and managed to reduce the chances of a surprise here to nothing - despite the commendable work of J.A. Bayona with ‘The Society of the Snow’. Jonathan Glazer’s film made a powerful statement, winning the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

In reality, the formidable production that the United Kingdom packaged and sent to Los Angeles was always likely to be more than a worthy representative. It was competing for not one, but five statuettes including Best Adapted Screenplay, won by American Fiction, to the big ones: Best Picture and Best Director.

It’s a film with that lingers in the mind. You watch once and digest later. Glazer manages to merge in a single film an amalgam of beautiful and terrifying sensations that are only understood when you let the filmmaker himself introduce you to the story: Rudolf Höss, commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp and one of the top figures in the Nazi movement, lives in an idyllic house with his wife and five children; a pleasant residence that has a fatal flaw due to a horrific detail: it is next to the extermination camp, and through its windows, a horror that is impossible to ignore seeps in.

Technical details

Winners of the Oscar for Best International Feature Film in the 21st Century