The Curse Of The Middle Class

The Zone of Interest is probably the most imaginative and utterly banal movie ever made. It follows an aspiring young couple and their family (did I mention their utterly lovely black pooch) as they strive to achieve and possibly surpass their destiny of middle class success. They have a small but comfortable home with a large backyard that also contains a: small pool, a vegetable/flower garden and a picnic area. They're a fairly contented lot, but as with any journey of success, there is always the free floating anxiety between doing even better, or having it all disappear...

Their yard is bordered by a rather obtrusive, oversized wall; behind said wall one can sometimes make out the occasional sounds of random gunshots and the harrowing screams of those either begging for their lives, or perhaps pleading for an end to them. And, of course, there's also the matter of those smokestacks further in the distance that never seem to stop, I'd guess one would want to take note which way the wind blows before setting out the laundry....

VICE Fucks Up!

As I've said on more than one occasion, the portraits taken in The Killing Fields of Cambodia are some of the most powerful in the history of photography. Full Stop. The fact that they also succeed as portraits that can be labeled "art" is an irony writ large that will, at best, help succeed in keeping those pictured, and the reign of evil that extinguished their lives, forever in the minds of public discourse worldwide for generations to come.

At first, I thought the technician in question, who colorized and then (Why, Lord?) further manipulated and defaced the portraits by pasting smiles upon their faces, was some pathetically out of touch 'do gooder' (for lack of a better term) operating under the very dubious assumption that he wanted humanity to remember these people as they existed in happier, more humane times. Thoroughly misguided, but... at least, (somewhat) plausible. Then we learn that the Vice interviewer(s) had no idea that the original portraits were, in fact, unsmiling and replete with terror. And then, the ultimate perverter of history goes on to reveal his true colors by actually discussing and analyzing his theory as to why... they were smiling when photographed! Beyond excusable, beyond despicable.

This was followed by the most shallow of mea culpas from VICE:

The story did not meet the editorial standards of VICE and has been removed. We regret the error and will investigate how this failure of the editorial process occurred.

Sounds like they got someone's name or date of birth wrong. No apologies to descendants, no official condemnation of the manipulator's lies and deception, no reference to the vile reality behind the abhorrent alterations...

Seriously, VICE- What The Fuck! 

1945

 

Two Jews come into town with two crates that allows them to decimate an entire village! The latest in Uzi tech with unlimited ammo from Netanyahu's Israel? Not quite...as the title suggests, it's 1945 and these two Jews brandish crates full of perfume and cosmetics- or so they say. The destruction comes from the townspeople themselves- and the guilt and shame they've each justified and buried like a badge of deep rooted honor. 

Two closing thoughts: a) I couldn't help think how the whole scenario played out like a typical sitcom sketch straight outta Mayberry (except with decidedly more serious subject matter), and b) the timing and setting with present day Hungary couldn't be more apropos...

Denial

Denial has gotten generally positive, albeit mixed reviews. Interestingly, and more than a little ironically, the movie is being criticized for very much the same reason that the protagonist had to navigate in real life. Reviewers criticize the film for not having an emotional center, not being dramatic enough; Holocaust Studies Professor Deborah E. Lipstad was warned by her formidable British legal staff that her case would be won not on its human and moral  merits- but by the cold, indisputable facts of the matter.

And the matter is a grave one indeed- what is being disputed is the very existence of The Holocaust, The Final Solution. And if Lipstad's team can't convince the judge on the merits of the facts and logic presented (not as easy as you may think)- the Holocaust itself will be legally cast into a cloud of arguable, disputable doubt. History by decree- how ya like them apples?

Denial, however, is first and foremost a film about trust. Why on earth would you trust anyone you don't know with the most important thing in your entire life- that which you are, in fact, duly credited as being most knowledgeable about to begin with?