I decided to watch The Grey Zone after seeing Son of Saul. The Grey Zone is the first movie that focused on the Sonderkommando uprising in Aushwitz in 1944. Even though Mengele’s influence haunts The Grey Zone like a malignant spirit, he is never depicted in the film. The closest that the audience gets is Harvey Keitel as his leading officer and a number of unnamed, shouting and abusive Nazis. The logistics of and obstacles to the uprising are carefully depicted, and each participant must seem obedient, but balance the odds of survival and maximum likelihood of success. An unexpected event disrupts their horrific daily routine and shocks many back into their better natures.
The Grey Zone feels like a play and constantly poses the question of what is the right way to act and how the prisoners morally distinguish themselves from the Nazis. The Grey Zone opens on a scene that makes the audience think one thing is happening, but as the movie unfolds, you understand what may have happened and why it may not be as bad as it originally seems.
This opening scene’s ambiguity is emblematic of most of the events that unfold in The Grey Zone. Characters are constantly rationalizing and justifying their actions to themselves and others and questioning others’ motives. Some characters still want to survive, and others are resigned to not surviving or don’t even want to survive after what they have witnessed or done. If The Grey Zone has any character that can be considered traditionally heroic, it is the female prisoners.
Even though I prefer the story that The Grey Zone depicts, it can never be as good as Son of Saul for one reason. The entire cast, though magnificent, feel like they were cast for a gangster movie set in New York or New Jersey then were told that they would star in a movie about the Holocaust. There was one scene when Keitel demanded that the prisoners stop speaking Hungarian, but obviously the entire cast is speaking English, but only Keitel attempted a German accent. David Arquette did a great job, but he is still David Arquette.
David Chandler plays what can be considered the most pivotal, lead role in the film, but I have never seen his character or his performance mentioned in written discussions of The Grey Zone. I think there are two reasons for this. First, even though Chandler is a veteran actor, his name is not as recognizable as Keitel, Arquette, Steve Buschemi or Mira Sorvino. Second, his character in the opening scene that I referenced earlier initially seems like a callous villain though his character’s reputation is redeemed as The Grey Zone unfolds.
I think that his character and The Grey Zone make people uncomfortable because it challenges its viewers to really question the morality of victims in an unimaginable situation yet still empathize and not demonize them. If there was a way to imbue this cast with the vocals and language skills of the cast of Son of Saul, I would heartily recommend The Grey Zone.