This film portrays the idyllic life that the family of Nazi commandant Rudolf Hoss enjoyed in a sumptuous house right next to the concentration camp in Auschwitz right in the middle of the Holocaus...

This film portrays the idyllic life that the family of Nazi commandant Rudolf Hoss enjoyed in a sumptuous house right next to the concentration camp in Auschwitz right in the middle of the Holocaust. At the same time, he was a devoted family man, who lived with his wife and children in a large house just outside the camp. There is very little soundtrack and it all unfolds at a deliberate pace that is in keeping with Jonathan Glazer’s slow-burn, disquieting style. A rigorous sense of order and calm is prevalent throughout. We never actually see any of the Holocaust taking place even though it’s right next door. The barbarism and butchery are only apparent from the screams in the distance or from fires at night or smoke during the daytime. The pristine, lush surroundings of this family bely the mass extermination that is taking place in the immediate vicinity. It’s a masterful work in which conveys horrible events by leaving them to the imagination. The message of the film is simple but profound - and also terrifying. We’re ordinary people, but so was Hoess, at least on one level. That thing we call civilisation is a wafer-thin veneer. If we don’t look after it, we’ll lose it.