SYNOPSIS:
"Tim is not a manipulator. He is giving you a piece of human experience that actually occurred," Sorvino says. "And it wasn't pretty." This harrowing story from actor-director Nelson (Eye of God, O) tells of Auschwitz's Sonderkommando, a squad of Jewish prisoners who handled the camp's gassing and cremation chores in exchange for privileged treatment and several more months of life. In 1944, one such group of Hungarians joined forces with a few female prisoners to destroy some of the crematoriums. "I wanted to make a Holocaust film that was more truthful than sentimental," says Nelson, who was originally inspired by the exodus of his mother's family from Germany in 1938.
Keitel became so absorbed in his role as a Nazi that he refused to speak with the actors who played Jews. "We all stayed in the same hotel, and I said hi to Harvey once in the hallway," Arquette says. "And then the next day, Tim came up to me and said, 'Harvey would appreciate it if you didn't say hi to him.' " Other cast members turned to levity in their offscreen moments. "As soon as the camera would stop rolling, everybody would break into this kind of gallows humor and try to lighten up," Sorvino says. "Then as soon as the scene would start again, you'd be back in hell."
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The Grey Zone
Release Date: October 11
Starring: David Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Mira Sorvino, and Natasha Lyonne
Directed by: Tim Blake Nelson
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Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.