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The Grey Zone 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Tim Blake Nelson
R, 108 min. (strong Holocaust violence, nudity, language) |
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Starring: David Arquette, Daniel Benzali, David Chandler, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Allan Corduner, Natasha Lyonne, Mira Sorvino, Kamelia Grigorova
Producers: Avi Lerner, Danny Lerner, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, Tim Blake Nelson
Screenplay: Tim Blake Nelson
Cinematography: Russell Lee Fine
Distributor: Lions Gate Films
Released: 10.18.02 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
It seems that every year one film in particular provides a good kick in the stomach. In '99 it was the shocking The War Zone,
two years ago it was the unforgettable Requiem for a Dream, and last year it was the searing In the Bedroom. This year's
entry is the gut-wrenching and powerful The Grey Zone, a Schindler's List without the silver lining. This is an extremely difficult film to
watch, but it should be required viewing for all adults, lest we ever forget what true evil can accomplish when the better
sides of our nature are expunged. Director Tim Blake Nelson has provided a realistic, stark depiction of the Nazi death camps,
which murdered millions of innocent Jews during the latter stages of World War II. The story, which is based on true
accounts, focuses on the Nazis' use of the Sonderkommandos, groups of Jews who herded their fellow Jews into the gas
chambers, collected their dead bodies, and finally disposed of them in the furnace. "The Grey Zone" refers to the ash
covered Sonderkommandos who worked in a zone where they were covered with grey ash from head to foot - a mark
of their shame. You see, in exchange for their help, they were given an extra four months to live, with ammenities such
as good food, clean beddings, and extra cigarettes to pass the time in relative comfort (as compared to other Jews in
concentrate camps).
The film focuses one such similar group of Jews, the twelfth Sonderkommando at Auschwitz, the only group ever to lead
a revolt at the death camp. Their efforts saved lives, but did it compensate for their own decisions to cooperate with
the Nazis for a little more life? That's the conundrum that Nelson presents the audience. In all honesty, would you
trade your humanity to continue living, even if it meant working in hellish conditions? No one can truly answer without
being there. But Nelson focuses on these Jews' fight within the system they were dealt. They used their extra time to
strike a blow at the Nazi's monstrous death machine. In a way, they could reclaim their humanity and justify their
selfishness. But then again, at what cost?
This unit of Sonderkommandos, whose time in almost at an end, has quietly been smuggling guns and explosives into
their barracks with the help of a group of female prisoners, led by Rosa (Natasha Lyonne) and Dina (Mira Sorvino), who work at an ammunitions factory. The unit is led by Hoffman (David Arquette), Rosenthal (David Chandler), and Schlermer (Daniel Benzali),
all of whom are bent on destroying the crematoriums before they die. But there are others, namely Abramowics (Steve Buscemi),
who see an opportunity to escape their fate instead of perish fighting. All their plans are threatened when Hoffman
discovers a 14-year old girl (Kamelia Grigorova) still alive at the bottom of a pile of corpses in the gas chamber. Seeing
a chance at redemption, they rush the camp doctor, Dr. Nyiszli (Allan Corduner), who assists the Nazis with their heinous
experiments in exchange for his family's life, to revive the girl. Once accomplished, they must hide her from the camp
commander, Muhsfeldt (Harvey Keitel), who is aware that an uprising may take place. The group must decide if one
life is worth the price of their planned actions.
The Grey Zone is a dark, dark film - it is unflinching and painfully true in its sincerity. Nelson has fashioned a picture
that has one goal in mind - to plunge the viewer into the chaos of death and evil that surrounded the Jews in the
concentration camps. He presents genicide as a process that is as unstoppable as the sun rising. The Jews depart the
trains, head to the dressing rooms where they undress, and then march unwillingly into the gas chambers where they
are told they will take "showers." The screams and horror ensue, only to next see the Sonderkommandos begin the
task of transferring corpses to the furnace to be cremated. Finally, their ashes are loaded onto trucks and eventually
dumped into ditches where they are buried. There is no reprieve, no second chances, nothing but the certainty of death.
It's a vicious cycle that renders the Sonderkommandos mentally crushed and devoid of feeling. They have so lost touch
with reality that when Hoffman mercilessly beats another Jew to death for not cooperating in the dressing room, he hardly
sees it as murder - just an act of mercy from the gas.
That's why the girl is seen as a test for those who are still alive. Though their efforts to kill her the first time around
failed, they now see their opportunity for redemption. So filled with the need for forgiveness for their actions, they
risk everything they had left to save her life. But, in accordance with the film's sense of hopelessness, their efforts
prove fruitless. Their uprising is still a mild success, but for those who are about to be executed for their roles, their
thoughts turn to the girl - who stands a few feet away watching their deaths with no expression. Even for Dr. Nyiszli,
the only survivor of the camp (his eyewitness account is detailed in his book "Auschwitz: A Doctor's Account"),
his punishment is worse than death - he must live on with the memories of the horrors of Auschwitz.
Nelson's camera is cold with washed out colors in favor of gray and black hues and backgrounds. The film itself is shot
with a gray look - interiors and exteriors seem one and the same. There is no escape from the oppressive themes
that saturate every frame. Furthermore, his use of gruesome scenes, including the aforementioned beating death and
a horrific torture scene involving Dina and a subsequent death squad scene, will make some viewers turn away. The
death camps were unforgivable, and Nelson fuels that sentiment.
The performances in The Grey Zone are so effective that they blend seamlessly into the background - we believe these
characters are really there, dealing with death at every turn. They only help to provide further punch to a film that
hardly needs more. The Grey Zone is emotionally taxing for the audience, and one scene in particular summarizes
what the Holocaust was all about. Shortly after herding a new crop of Jews into the gas chamber, Hoffman sits in apathetic
agony as we hear the screams and banging of fists on the door of the chamber. Their gruesome deaths aren't seen, they're
heard, which makes their demise more palpable because we can only imagine how they suffer. The slow closeup of
Hoffman's blank expression sums up the response to one of the darkest chapters in human history - speechlessness.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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