The Grey Zone Review

Writer, Producer, and Director Tim Blake Nelson “O’ Brother O’ Art Thou” brings fourth a scary and disturbing look into Auschwitz in the 1940s. Based in large part on Miklos Nyiszli’s book, “Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account”. Nelson also personally optioned the rights to Nyiszli’s book for film and stage, and the Doctor became a character in the first incarnation of THE GREY ZONE, a stage play produced in 1996 at New York’s Manhattan Class Company off-Broadway. The production was extended repeatedly, and ended the season to great acclaim winning numerous awards, including New York Newsday’s Oppenheimer Prize, and four Obies.

THE GREY ZONE brings you inside the Nazi camp, and the dark, and nightmarish world of these death camps. The film tells the horrible tale of the twelfth Sonderkommando unit these camps were holding grounds for Jewish prisoners. Sonderkommandos played with extreme intensity by an incredible cast: David Arquette, Daniel Benzali, David Chandler, and Steve Buscemi show you this world of pure and unrelenting hate and despair.

When Sonderkommandos discover there is a little girl that had survived the gas chamber. They take action and try to protect her even at the risk of their own lives. They attempt to escape from captivity but very few ever left the death camps. Leading the way is David Arquette “Eight Legged Freaks”, and “Get Ready To Rumble” tries desperately to save her and bring her to safety.

THE GREY ZONE is a time portal back to the days where Nazis no longer thought it needed its Jewish population. So, they told the world of their plans to rid Germany and England of their population. During this time period they were executing thousands of Jewish prisoners by using gas chambers as their way to execute prisoners. The process was ugly stripping their prisoners of their personal effects, clothing, and at times even their teeth in preparation for incineration.

This extraordinary film is a true landmark for movie making it was truly an amazing feat. Tim Blake Nelson is true genius as a Producer and Director I thought it told of those days with brilliance and accuracy. What also made this film so good were high caliber performances by Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, and Natasha Lyonne just was outstanding. It was brilliantly written, and it held it’s own right down to the very end.

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Updated: January 18, 2003 — 3:12 pm