Son of Saul (2015) Review!!!

Synopsis – In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival upon trying to salvage from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son.

My Take – This Hungarian film has been on my watch list from the time it found success at the Cannes Film Festival, with a cool title & now an Oscar (along with a Golden Globes, Spirit Awards etc) in hand for Best Foreign Language film, I am glad to say after seeing this Holocaust film, its a must watch for ever lover of the art of making films. The Holocaust is an event which cannot be shown lightly in films. Most of have tried, only some succeeded. Director László Nemes’ film takes the Holocaust very seriously. Instead of recounting it in a sombre documentary-esque way such as Schindler’s List, we are utterly present in its unpredictable and relentless horror. While most Holocaust films struggle between their representation of order and chaos, often deciding to switch between the two when necessary, this film finds the ideal balance, showing these small shards of order within the chaos. The most fascinating idea of its premise is to show the prisoners appointed with the tasks of guiding victims into the gas chambers, organizing their belongings and then cleaning up after them. The painfully precise reconstruction of the mass murder in POV style, brutally relivable presentation of the lead’s everyday is just the beginning and the setting makes this an excellent watch.

The story follows Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig), 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. In October 1944, Saul discovers the corpse of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkomando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task, find a Jewish Rabbi to give his son a proper burial. This movie starts completely out of focus – literally. The viewer sees only vague shapes moving around. Is this a technical error or an experiment gone wrong? Nothing of the kind. After a while, the face of lead character Saul Auslander moves close to the camera – and into focus. And it stays this way. In the first few minutes, the camera stays within a range of 50 centimeters from Saul’s face. Or I should say: Saul’s head – because sometimes we see only the side or the back of his head. The effect of this style of filming is no less than spectacular. All kinds of things are happening around Saul. This film is unique in showing the concentration camp for what is is: hell on earth. Naked dead bodies being dragged around, desperate people being shot indiscriminately, complete absence of anything humanity stands for. It is exactly this total loss of dignity that drives Saul in his hopeless quest for a way to organize a proper burial for the dead boy. It is a daunting task given the circumstances of the arrival of more victims daily, and the clandestine plans being made for a prisoner rebellion, an extraordinary example of physical resistance but it is Saul’s singular act of rebellion that adds a dimension to the suffering that transcends its apparent meaninglessness. Nemes keeps graphic content to a minimum and relies on the viewer’s imagination, wisely letting the horrors to be assimilated through suggestion and an intentionally raucous soundtrack. The movie is a strong audio-visual and emotional representation of what it was supposed to be like living in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The senses are bombarded with loud sounds, screams, scenes flash before us, ghastly scenes of pain, suffering, hatred, inhumanity.

Saul appears from within that stress of constant nerve-wrecking pressure, death and sorrow, as a flower blooming on a deserted field, with his obsession to fulfill an obligation. Suddenly the entire life that until then seemed so pitiful, impossible and desolate, that was run according to the strict rules and punishments of others, now has a purpose. This is an astounding debut film for László Nemes on every level. Even a seasoned visionary director would struggle in such a precise execution. Director Nemes‘ work is dense, engaging, and arguably accessible in its own way but mostly for the immediate empathy the situation earns. Its directors like Nemes that should make the world very optimistic about the future of cinema. If we have filmmakers like him, getting in the trenches of history and the human spirit, and beckoning its awakening into our souls, we should be so lucky to have him display the beauty and evil of the world in such a provocative and engaging manner. The acting and performances in this film are spectacular. Everyone was great in this film and actually felt like they are in the Holocaust. The standout is Géza Röhrig. He brings a powerful performance as Saul and has the best performance of last year. There are shots in this movie that stay for a long while on his face and just by his face and body language we can tell so much about him. Saul is a broken man in a broken world. He’s trying to recover what little of his spirit he still has and Röhrig portrays that phenomenally. With little words, he says countless and devastating things about what he’s feeling and what we know about ourselves. He doesn’t use cheap tricks to engage the audiences like “really intense face” or “really scared moving.” Röhrig displays the numb, almost disengaged weight of the world in every physical and vocal movement he chooses to exhibit. It’s a flawless, masterful performance that we need more of in this cinematic world. Few movies have affected me on such a deep and emotional level like this. It is not an easy film to watch, but it is an important and even a necessary one in its own way. On the whole, ‘Son of Saul’ aka ‘Saul fia’ is a unique, hard-hitting movie experience which both a horrifying and strangely beautiful one. When you go see it, don’t expect a well-rounded story with heroes and villains and a nice ending. But expect to be swept away.