But the film's good intentions suffer under the Hollywood production and its cast of famous faces, which includes David Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, and Natasha Lyonne.

| Apr 8, 2025

The Grey Zone may be a forgotten film but it is essential viewing as far as Holocaust movies are concerned.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 6, 2024

If they gave an Oscar for best ensemble acting, and I think they should, The Grey Zone would get my vote.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 4, 2018

This is a masterpiece and yet another chapter of the dark period called: "The Holocaust."

| Apr 29, 2009

So many incredibly raw, wrenching--and, crucially, unsparingly unsentimental--scenes and moments that it's impossible to not be haunted by the film.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 2, 2009

It unsuccessfully tries to bridge the gap between pathos and establishing a sense of realism, coming across as forced. Overweight prisoners and Harvey Keitel's German accent distract from the mood of the film.

| Original Score: C | Jun 21, 2007

Filme trgico, complexo, difcil - e que pode ser assistido em sesso dupla com O Pianista.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 25, 2003

They are dark, thoroughly uncompromising works of a filmmaker completely fearless to take an audience into dank recesses of the human condition.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 19, 2003

Roman Polanski's The Pianist may have been showered with Oscar glory ... but the best Holocaust film of 2002 was actually The Grey Zone.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 13, 2003

Unlike Schindler's List, ... this uses history to remind us of the tenuousness of our own morality, to remind us that ... most of us will never have to know what we might be capable of in certain circumstances.

Full Review | Apr 26, 2003

The effort is sincere and the results are honest, but the film is so bleak that it's hardly watchable.

| Original Score: C | Apr 21, 2003

Hauntingly unforgettable.

| Dec 30, 2002

An intelligent and deeply felt work about impossible, irrevocable choices and the price of making them.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Dec 27, 2002

It's hard to imagine anybody ever being "in the mood" to view a movie as harrowing and painful as The Grey Zone, but it's equally hard to imagine anybody being able to tear their eyes away from the screen once it's started.

Full Review | Nov 29, 2002

Brings light to a little-known facet of the Holocaust in a way that does justice to its moral ambiguities.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 19, 2002

If this story must be told and retold -- and indeed it must -- then The Grey Zone is to be lauded for finding a new and ingenious angle.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Nov 18, 2002

Effectively feeds our senses with the chilling sights and sounds from within the camp to create a completely numbing experience.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 18, 2002

If stars could be awarded on the basis of good intentions, The Grey Zone should be king of the galaxy. Unfortunately, it lands on earth with something of a thud.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 18, 2002

Even in its darkest moments, a heartening defiance underlies gut-wrenching calamity.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Nov 15, 2002

As bold and unyielding as The Grey Zone stands with its historical subtext, there are a few factors detracting from the powerful message.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 15, 2002