January was a whirlwind, so I'm only now posting this. It was my honor at this year's Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards banquet, held January 13th at the Biltmore in downtown, to present our Best Director prize. These were my remarks from the stage.
Much has been made of the fact that writer-director Jonathan Glazer spent 10 years working on The Zone of Interest. But I would argue that it feels like a lifetime has been poured into this astonishing film. A lifetime of artistic growth and soul searching. A lifetime of witnessing the horrors of history repeat. Glazer’s drama is set during the Holocaust but it speaks to the present — it is an achievement that required every part of him.You can read Glazer's acceptance speech here. The photo is by Matt Harbicht. The Zone of Interest also won Best Picture, which was richly deserved. All the LAFCA winners can be seen here.
Over the span of four monumental films, Glazer has forged a career that defies easy categorization. But after The Zone of Interest, what is clear is that what connects these films is a man who wants us to see beyond what we are accustomed — to marvel or be terrified by the world that exists just below the surface. To look, unblinking, at what’s been there the whole time.
In The Zone of Interest, Glazer presents fascism as a family affair, complete with the idyllic home, the wife and kids, the prestigious job. We don’t simply watch Rudolf and Hedwig — we inspect them, their focus on status a nightmare mirror of our own petty cravings for comfort and security at the expense of others. Evil is not extraordinary, Glazer tells us — in fact, it’s frighteningly common, and we are all susceptible to the virus.
That’s why he agonized over his masterpiece. The preciseness of tone, the rejection of cliches, the formulation of an ingenious shooting style that indicts rather than glamorizes: It took sensitivity and anger and sorrow and courage. The Zone of Interest is a work of profound moral seriousness. It is also a work of art. It took him a lifetime — may we not take that long to heed its warnings or fully absorb its terrible power.
Please join me in congratulating our winner for Best Director, Mr. Jonathan Glazer.
This was the first banquet for the organization I didn't help oversee since 2010, and the new exec board did a smashing job. I've moderated several Q&As with members of the Zone team, so the evening felt like a happy reunion with some good folks. Being able to introduce Susan to Celine Song, our New Generation recipient as writer-director of Past Lives, was another highlight. Susan loves The Zone of Interest and Past Lives as much as I do. (She got to tell Glazer something she's been telling me for a while, which is that Zone may be one of the greatest films she's ever seen. Susan also adores Under the Skin). So, yes, a special night for us both.
