The Grey zone

Some topics are so serious that they should still work even with average processing. Moreover, having Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, and several other well-known and quality actors at your disposal and not making a strong film already seems like a big failure. Nevertheless, I can't think of a film set in a concentration camp that would feel so barren to me. Brynych wasn't a directing ace, but his film Transport from Paradise, even though it didn't rely on a strong dramatic plot and was modest in terms of production, managed to capture the everyday life of the camp and the departure of the transport in an impressive documentary-like way that clearly surpasses The Grey Zone. In Nelson's film, I get the impression that there was a misunderstanding of the rules of the world behind barbed wire. The dialogue between the camp commander and the prisoner who opposes him is like something from another planet. Comparing the motif of survival in the gas chamber from the chillingly impressive Son of Saul with a similar scene in The Grey Zone feels almost blasphemous. The Grey Zone fails to sell the film characters and its storytelling is clumsy and quickly forgettable. Overall impression: 45%. (21/10/2018)

Some films are so powerful that when you rewatch them twenty years later, they leave the same or even stronger impression on you than they did before. The Grey Zone is exactly that type of film. It's a harrowing behind-the-scenes look at a monstrous death factory. There are films that are easy to watch and let you switch off and enjoy an undemanding fun story and I do like them. Then there are films that make you contemplate things you would rather not be thinking about for your own sake, and I like those even more. I guess the crucial question is, "What would I have done in such a situation?" Before, I couldn't understand how so few soldiers (and dogs) could lead so many people to their deaths without any resistance. It's clear to me now. Those people were killed by hope. Some didn't believe they were going to die, some suspected it, and others even knew it, but as long as there was a tiny spark of hope left, it was hard to be the first to confront the gunmen. It was only when the captors had taken all hope away from the people that they realized they had lost their power over them. Those who can no longer hope, don’t risk anything as they have nothing to lose. This film shows it in its true light, and I am glad it was made. I do know it wasn't a five-star film, but I'm giving it five stars anyway. (26/08/2022)