The Commandant's Shadow Explained

The Commandant's Shadow
Director:Daniela Völker
Producer:
  • Daniela Völker
  • Gloria Abramoff
Starring:
Production Companies:
Distributor:
Runtime:103 minutes
Country:
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Language:English

The Commandant's Shadow is a 2024 documentary film directed and produced by Daniela Völker. The film focuses on the story of Jurgen Höss, the son of Auschwitz concentration camp director Rudolf Höss, and his boyhood home life in the villa adjacent to it. The film also stars Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, an Auschwitz survivor who meets face-to-face with Jurgen Höss decades later. The Commandant's Shadow drew media comparisons to the 2023 film The Zone of Interest, a dramatization similarly focusing on the Höss family's life adjacent to Auschwitz.[1]

Snowstorm, Creators Inc., and New Mandate Films produced the movie.[2] HBO Documentary Films and Warner Bros. Pictures acquired distribution rights in April 2024 with Fathom Events partnering to give the film a limited release in the United States on May 29 and 30, 2024.[3]

Reception

Nick Schager of The Daily Beast called the film "an overpowering work of excavation and confrontation—as well as a timely and urgent warning about the continuing threat of antisemitism." Leslie Combemale of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists wrote that "this documentary has such a powerful hold, it's hard to shake even days later."[4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Schager . Nick . The Traumatic True Story Behind ‘The Zone of Interest’ . May 29, 2024 . . May 29, 2024.
  2. News: Billington . Alex . Holocaust Doc 'The Commandant's Shadow' Trailer About Rudolf Höss . May 29, 2024 . First Showing . May 6, 2024.
  3. News: Staff . Warner Bros. Pictures And HBO Acquire Doc ‘The Commandant’s Shadow’; Fathom Events To Partner With Warner Bros. For Theatrical Screenings . May 29, 2024 . . Penske Media Corporation . April 26, 2024.
  4. News: Combemale . Leslie . The Commandant's Shadow – Review by Leslie Combemale . May 30, 2024 . AWFJ.com . May 20, 2024.