The Zone of Interest ending explained

What happens

Rudolf Höss, promoted after overseeing the deportation of Hungarian Jews, retches on a dark staircase in Berlin. The film cuts to the Auschwitz museum today, then returns to Rudolf, who descends into the darkness.

The last image

Rudolf walks down the dark stairwell and out of sight.

Two readings

1 · A body that knowsHis retching shows a conscience he cannot voice, but it changes nothing.

2 · A glimpse of the futureHe seems to see the museum, the memory his deeds will leave behind.

What it says

The ending shows that feeling sick is not the same as changing. By cutting to the museum, the film asks what you do with memory today, and whether you look or look away.