Jonathan Glazer rocks Cannes with a chilling Holocaust drama from a different perspective

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

CANNES, France (AP) — Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” a chilling Auschwitz-set drama shot through “a 21st century lens,” has delivered the Cannes Film Festival’s first critical sensation by approaching the Holocaust from an unlikely perspective. “The Zone of Interest” dramatize the life of a fictional German family whose handsome home and tasteful gardens abut the outer wall of Auschwitz. There, they live a mostly peaceful, mundane life, while the rumble of incinerators is heard in the background, smoke rises from the gas chambers, and muffled screams are sometimes heard. Following its premiere Friday, “The Zone of Interest” quickly rose to the top of forecasts for the Palme d’Or, Cannes’ top prize.