Son of Saul

Name: Son of Saul
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, Horror, War
Released: December 18, 2015
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 90
Cast: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Todd Charmont, Urs Rechn

2015

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 45 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 137 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 137 Ratings

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Son Of Saul (US)

Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: December 18, 2015

Starring: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Todd Charmont, Urs Rechn

Summary: October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the corpse of a boy he takes for his son. As theOctober 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the corpse of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.… Expand

Director: László Nemes

Genre(s): Drama, History, Thriller, Horror, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 107 min

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Awards & Rankings

10	#10 Best Movie of 2015
91	#91 Most Shared Movie of 2015

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

NPR - Bob Mondello

Dec 18, 2015

It's not an easy sit, but it is a riveting, effective one, and a genuine change from the familiar conventions of most holocaust dramas. Read full review

100

Chicago Sun-Times - Richard Roeper

Jan 28, 2016

Son of Saul is lasting work of art — difficult to watch, impossible to forget. Read full review

100

The Observer (UK) - Mark Kermode

Jan 4, 2019

I struggle to remember the last time a non-documentary film proved so profoundly, soul-shakingly distressing. This is as it should be – anything less would be immoral and irresponsible. Read full review

The A.V. Club - A.A. Dowd

Dec 16, 2015

No film set over a single day at Auschwitz is going to be an easy sit, and there are moments here, like a mass midnight purging, that threaten an audience’s capacity to keep watching. But Son Of Saul, for all the enormity of its subject matter, is an oddly gripping experience — a vision of intense purpose found in what may be the final hours of a life. Read full review

Screen International - Jonathan Romney

May 24, 2015

Using techniques of distanciation that sometimes make it an alienating, even confusing experience, László Nemes’s cogent, strikingly confident debut is harrowing, but cinematically rewarding. Read full review

Boston Globe - Ty Burr

Jan 21, 2016

On the whole it’s daring and committed, and in Röhrig’s tremendously focused performance, it honors all the saints we’ll never know. And that’s worth any risk. Read full review

New York Magazine (Vulture) - David Edelstein

Jan 8, 2016

The movie doesn’t expand in your mind — it shrinks along with its protagonist, its conclusion a reductio ad absurdum. Read full review

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User Reviews

roinujrino

Dec 18, 2015

Son of Saul is an immersive experience of the most disturbing kind, an unwavering vision of a particular kind of hell. No matter how many Holocaust films you've seen, you've not seen one like this.

4 of 7 users found this helpful43

TributeMan

Jan 24, 2016

Nie ważne jak dużo filmów o Holokauście widzieliście. Ten jest kompletnie inny.

Akcja filmu ukazuje 48 godzin z życia tytułowego Szawła. Od razu ostrzegam, że nie jest to film lekki, lub podchodzący do tematyki z dystansem. Jest to bardzo realistyczne ukazanie tego jak wyglądało masoweNie ważne jak dużo filmów o Holokauście widzieliście. Ten jest kompletnie inny.

Akcja filmu ukazuje 48 godzin z życia tytułowego Szawła. Od razu ostrzegam, że nie jest to film lekki, lub podchodzący do tematyki z dystansem. Jest to bardzo realistyczne ukazanie tego jak wyglądało masowe mordowanie ludności żydowskiej. Przez większość filmu śledzimy akcje zza pleców gł. bohatera. Sprawia to, że immersja w historie jest całkowita. Wielu rzeczy nie widzimy, ponieważ całe tło po za głównym bohaterem jest rozmyte (oczywiście nie całkowicie). Za to działa na naszą wyobraźnie zupełnie co innego - dźwięk. Jęki, krzyki, przekleństwa, rozmowy, strzały, itd. Jest to zaskakujący zabieg i bardzo odważny, ale w rezultacie obraz wydaje się być mocniejszy w odbiorze. Nasza wyobraźnia pracuje na pełnych obrotach.
Moim zdaniem jest to film wybitny. Obowiązkowy dla każdego. O historii trzeba pamiętać.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Brent_Marchant

Feb 4, 2016

A decidedly troubling film to watch but one that triumphantly speaks to man's innate desire to preserve even a semblance of humanity amidst the most reprehensible circumstances imaginable. Geza Rohrig gives a moving, quietly powerful performance as a man determined to give a dead child someA decidedly troubling film to watch but one that triumphantly speaks to man's innate desire to preserve even a semblance of humanity amidst the most reprehensible circumstances imaginable. Geza Rohrig gives a moving, quietly powerful performance as a man determined to give a dead child some dignity even when trapped by the horrors of a concentration camp. Filmed mostly up-close with hand-held cameras, director Laszlo Nemes puts viewers right in the middle of the story, allowing the audience to experience the gruesome, inhumane indignities firsthand while skillfully hinting at the horrors taking place at hand without graphically depicting many of them. The strongly visceral feeling this picture evokes is definitely not for everyone, but, for those who are willing to allow themselves to partake in a gut-wrenching yet utterly inspiring experience, this one should not be missed.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

shiftworker

Nov 30, 2016

Hungarian holocaust tale. Father working in death camp tries to provide a proper burial for his son. Compelling, but bleak. Interestingly and effectively shot, with the main character in focus and the appalling events largely out of focus in the background.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

foxgrove

Dec 18, 2015

Son of Saul is one of those important films that comes so steeped in the injustices and horrors of its history that one feels positively guilty about saying anything negative about it. This unique perspective on the holocaust atrocities has us following Saul, a Hungarian Jew, working as aSon of Saul is one of those important films that comes so steeped in the injustices and horrors of its history that one feels positively guilty about saying anything negative about it. This unique perspective on the holocaust atrocities has us following Saul, a Hungarian Jew, working as a Sonderkommando at Auschwitz/Birkenau. Here his daily work is to herd hundreds of his fellow race naked into the gas chambers and subsequently remove the bodies, effecting a clean-up of all traces of the horror. After one such routine a young boy is discovered, barely alive, having survived the gas. From this point in, although the boy subsequently dies, Saul becomes obsessed by having him properly buried by a Rabbi. The ambiguity surrounding whether or not the boy is actually Saul’s son casts the actions of the protagonist in a contrasting light, depending on viewer interpretation. It is precisely this unanswered question that causes confusion in the narrative which, in turn, has an overall detrimental impact.
The film’s style further distances. Told from Saul’s viewpoint almost totally, one watches intently but real emotional involvement is kept at bay. Long tracking shots, out of focus imagery and an in your face claustrophobic feel becomes somewhat overwhelming. Likewise, the frenetic and dizzying camera movements don’t always allow time to process exactly what is happening. I’m sure this is intentional and in keeping with the chaotic context but, as cinema it is frustratingly unsatisfying.
There are two standout sequences, however. The first, where Saul finds himself stripped naked awaiting execution and the second involves an escape.
Overall the film cries out to be seen (the critics seem to have been inventing superlatives for it). I just wish that I liked it as much as I appreciate it.… Expand

8 of 11 users found this helpful83

NerdConsultant

Apr 21, 2016

I don’t feel much for this film in all honesty, I like it, but I don’t fully like it, it’s negatives are so glaring that I can’t say it’s a great movie. I should want to experience a harrowing drama that brings home the tragedy of the Holocaust, but I am kind of left with something thatI don’t feel much for this film in all honesty, I like it, but I don’t fully like it, it’s negatives are so glaring that I can’t say it’s a great movie. I should want to experience a harrowing drama that brings home the tragedy of the Holocaust, but I am kind of left with something that when it focuses on what it does well it’s excellent, when it tries to focus on anything else it feels rather padded and overlong. However, my opinion is not shared by many people so there is clearly many people who thought this film was cinematic genius. I really want to share there opinion but I can’t because I’d be lying to you and myself . As it stands I can only recommend it to fans of Art House Cinema as I think they will get a kick out of it on its cinematography alone. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike this film because it’s tackling a difficult subject and it’s a sad film, far from it, I can definitely appreciate films that try to do that type of story telling and for the most part it works, but it has too many technical issues that I cannot overlook.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

Broyax

May 24, 2018

Il faut toujours aborder avec précaution et circonspection les "palmes" du Festival de Cannes ; il faut s'y préparer psychologiquement, il faut rester fort. Surtout avec un film hongrois non doublé bien entendu.
Remarquez, il aurait été doublé que ça aurait été un gâchis impardonnable : ilIl faut toujours aborder avec précaution et circonspection les "palmes" du Festival de Cannes ; il faut s'y préparer psychologiquement, il faut rester fort. Surtout avec un film hongrois non doublé bien entendu.
Remarquez, il aurait été doublé que ça aurait été un gâchis impardonnable : il n'y a rien de pire que de mobiliser nos meilleurs doubleurs pour doubler... euh un "truc" pareil. Bref, ça ferait mal au cul, comme on dit.

Pourtant, le sujet qui concerne les camps de la mort suscite évidemment une curiosité certaine. Mais souvent, la curiosité est un vilain défaut et on comprend pourquoi ici. Difficile donc de décrire cette "palme" mais nous tenterons néanmoins de le faire à nos risques et périls.

Le film est en 4/3 et le film est à 95% (ou peut-être 97%) filmé derrière l'épaule du rôle principal et on sent bien que pour les 5 ou 3% restants, ça emmerde le réalisateur de filmer autre chose que l'épaule de l'acteur ou sa brave tronche de prisonnier. La caméra suit donc à la trace le gars et garde la mise au point exclusivement sur lui ; de cette façon, tout le reste est flou... et pendant tout le putain de film, on ne sait pas ce qui se passe dans le camp parce qu'on ne voit que la tronche ou l'épaule du pauvre gars qui veut enterrer son fiston.

C'est donc pas regardable, ni au début, ni au milieu, ni à la fin. Et à part une scène précise (les exécutions au bord de la fosse) on pourrait se trouver dans n'importe endroit avec des prisonniers, n'importe quel camp de travail. Sauf que quand même ça parle allemand beaucoup évidemment et qu'on apprend la langue assez vite avec "ya wol et arbeit".

Le plus dingue dans tout ça, c'est que le film passe directement par dessus la tête et que son impact est réduit à zéro. Et pourtant, un camp de la mort, ce n'est pas une simple anecdote. Mais avec ce film réalisé par un demeuré, ça le devient et ça l'est. Et les débiles à l'asile de Cannes, ils lui filent la palme. Nous aussi, on lui donne la "palme" mais pas pour les mêmes raisons...… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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