KZ is not just a film about the Holocaust. The fact that KZ (the German abbreviation for concentration camp) is a documentary is quite fitting, as it provides us with a new facet of one of the greatest tragedies of humanity without the heaviness of a plot or sombre music.

The film is set in Mauthausen, a little village in Austria, which is home to one of the largest former labour camps in Europe. Director Rex Bloomstein offers us interviews with Mauthausen residents, and neatly contrasts them with tours of the camp.

The residents are asked whether the town’s dark past bothers them, as they tend to their gardens or sit in their living rooms. Most say they are happy with life in Mauthausen, as the camera pans across the flourishing, sunny town. One lady recounts her trip to Israel, where she was told not to mention Mauthausen, the home that she knows and loves.

One young tour guide, with his shaved head and sunken eyes, is almost as chilling as the stories he tells. His obsession with Mauthausen’s history is an example of a detrimental effect of the past, which contributes to his suffering from depression and alcoholism. The faces of the teenagers in the school group he is leading convey a different kind of sadness than graphic photos of victims would.

KZ deals with several points, including the obvious one of never forgetting the past. It also raises the touchy subject of guilt: who should feel guilty and for how long? The answer lies ultimately with the viewer, and that was something I really admired about the film. You get the feeling that it’s time for the moral lesson to be passed on.