The Grey Zone (2001)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Tim Blake Nelson

Writers:

Miklos Nyiszli (book)
Tim Blake Nelson (play)

Release Date:

30 November 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The Story You Haven't Seen

Plot:

A Nazi doctor, along with the Sonderkomando, Jews who are forced to work in the crematoria of Auschwitz against their fellow Jews, find themselves in a moral grey zone.

Plot Keywords:

Auschwitz | Uprising | Doctor | Poland | Holocaust

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

David Arquette	...	Hoffman
Velizar Binev	...	Moll
David Chandler	...	Max Rosenthal
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Cohen
George Zlatarev	...	Lowy (as Georgy Zlatarev)
Dimitar Ivanov	...	Old Man
Daniel Benzali	...	Simon Schlermer
Allan Corduner	...	Dr. Miklos Nyiszli
Steve Buscemi	...	'Hesch' Abramowics
Harvey Keitel	...	SS-Oberscharfuhrer Eric Muhsfeldt
Henry Stram	...	SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Mengele
Kamelia Grigorova	...	Girl
Lisa Benavides	...	Anja
Shirly Brener	...	Inmate
Mira Sorvino	...	Dina

MPAA:

Rated R for strong holocaust violence, nudity and language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (cable rating) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Brazil:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Spain:18 | USA:R (certificate #38234) | Norway:15 | Australia:R | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

Goatsingers, The

Trivia:

Although Harvey Keitel plays SS-Oberscharfuhrer Eric Muhsfeldt, Keitel himself is of Jewish-Polish heritage.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Overall shots show four crematoria side by side. In reality crematoria 4 and 5 were located quite a distance away from the other two.

Quotes:

SS-Oberscharfuhrer Eric Muhsfeldt: I never fully despised the Jews until I experienced how easily they could be persuaded to do the work here. To do it so well. And to their own people! They'll be dead by week's end, every soul. And we'll replace them with others no different. Do you know how easy that will be?

Movie Connections:

References Nuit et brouillard (1955)

Soundtrack:

Roses from the South, Opus 388

A Very Good Film

I was a little wary of this film because of the cast - but David Arquette was surprisingly good. I happen to like films that have a theatrical uality - so that was fine with me. At first I wondered why Harvey spoke with an accent, and no one else did - then midway through the film I got that the idea was that the Jews HEARD his German accent - and since the story was from THEIR perspective, they had no accents from their point of view. To convey this to an American audience, they spoke like Americans. I despise Shindler's List . That film turned a horror into a feel good event. Disgusting. THIS movie doesn't manipulate you with sappy speeches and ridiculous violin crescendos, nor does it get sweet and sentimental like Saving Private Ryan. This movie is about horror - and it ends horribly. It doesn't cheapen the death, it forces you to feel all of the terrible weight.