Hey, everyone! I’m out in sunny northern California (emphasis on sunny–it’s almost 90 degrees…in October) for Marin County’s Mill Valley Film Festival! The 46th annual festival plays a large number of highly anticipated award-season films as well as fascinating films from up-and-coming filmmakers, foreign and domestic. I’m set to see 13 films over the next seven days; my plan is to tell you a little about all of them. The cream of the crop will get their own reviews. While the festival officially started on Thursday, yesterday was my first day. With that intro out of the way, here we go!

The Main Feature: The Zone of Interest

Wow. Just…wow. On one level, it’s a simple look at mid-century domestic life: dad works, mom gardens, kids play. Not so simple: the dad is the Commandant presiding over Auschwitz and the family lives right outside the walls. Director Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin) leaves the horror of atrocity in the background throughout. The soundtrack hits you with a constant murmur of dog barks, gunshots, and screaming. The steam from the trains bringing more and more Jews to the camp rises just above the horizon. The smokestacks spewing fire and the ever-present ash burn in the distance. It hits so hard by attempting to keep the evil as mundane as possible, but you can’t help but feel it at every moment. It’s as exceptional as it is evocative. My only fear is that the festival has peaked too soon, because The Zone of Interest is a masterpiece (I’ll have a full review coming soon).

The Other Feature: Terrestrial Verses

This film is one I came into with no prior knowledge or expectations. And even though it could not have disappointed under those circumstances, it did much better than that. The movie consists of numerous vignettes in which everyday folks in Iran attempt to navigate the various bureaucracies which make their lives so much harder. Each vignette is a static shot focused on our victim being dismissed, lied to, harassed, or intimidated by the unseen authority figure who provides our POV. It’s both formally inventive and darkly funny. A real surprise.

Coming up today: the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and the new film from legendary German director Wim Wenders, Perfect Days.

(Photo credit: A24 Films)