Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Son of Saul

Play trailer 1:44 Poster for Son of Saul R 2015 1h 47m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
96% Tomatometer 230 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
During World War II, a Jewish worker (Géza Röhrig) at the Auschwitz concentration camp tries to find a rabbi to give a child a proper burial.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Son of Saul

Son of Saul

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Grimly intense yet thoroughly rewarding, Son of Saul offers an unforgettable viewing experience -- and establishes director László Nemes as a talent to watch.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas The Blue Lenses 08/25/2018
Son of Saul employs the formal mechanics of filmmaking to turn [its] ... questions back in on and around themselves, doing what cinema does best in the hands of great filmmakers: showing by not showing, telling by not telling. Go to Full Review
Dwight Brown National Newspaper Publishers Association 03/07/2017
Son of Saul is a masterwork that leads viewers right to the gates of hell. Go to Full Review
Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com 08/16/2016
4/4
Important as it is essential, the movie is a remarkable achievement deserving of every honor and ounce of acclaim it has so far achieved, watching it a catastrophically profound experience I'm not soon to forget. Go to Full Review
Brendan Cassidy InSession Film 06/17/2024
A
Son of Saul is one of the richest and most personal of all Holocaust films, backed by a stunning central performance and realized by a filmmaker who has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. Go to Full Review
Jordan Brooks Vague Visages 08/01/2023
Grappling with themes of self-preservation and mental stability amongst abject barbarity, Son of Saul packs an emotional punch all its own, while seeking to convey the essence of an individual living in abhorrent chaos. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/25/2022
4.5/5
A difficult, harrowing, and exhausting film to endure – claustrophobic and psychological. But it’s also an intimate and gripping experience and an extraordinary feature film debut from László Nemes. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Stephen C @bob25009 May 13 Rated R for Some Graphic Nudity, and Disturbing Violent Content. I love a mix of Drama and History!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more r96 s Apr 16 'Son of Saul' is as upsetting and unimaginable as you would anticipate a film about the Holocaust would be. It is quite unique in terms of its story and how it's portrayed. It's interesting to learn about the Sonderkommandos, a term I somehow wasn't overly familiar with to be honest. Géza Röhrig is outstanding in the leading role, one that requires some big acting chops given the character doesn't speak too often. How crazy that he, so I read, hadn't acted in film for a few decades up until this. The only thing more surprising is that this is director László Nemes' directorial debut! See more Mo H Apr 6 Watching this film is a bit like having poor eye sight, and then sitting behind someone tall in the cinema, so that you can only see 1/3 of what's going on in the background. While the themes are intense and thought providing, I would not recommend this unless you are a fan of long closeups. See more Ricardo B Mar 23 Ambientado em Auschwitz, durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, "Filho de Saul" é pesado e difícil de assistir — assim como qualquer filme ambientado durante o Holocausto —, mas oferece uma singular experiência visual, movida por um profundo foco no protagonista e sua experiência no campo de concentração. É o tipo de filme que eu nunca mais vou assistir novamente, mas a imersiva experiência visual valeu uma visita. See more Feb 27 A masterpiece. The treatment Sonderkommando have received in the decades since the war is disgraceful. I hope this helps with their long overdue vindication. See more Alec B 12/13/2023 One of the few films about the Holocaust that's willing to be an unrelenting nightmare. I'm not sure if I could ever revisit it but I respect that the filmmakers never compromise on their bleak, pessimistic narrative. See more Read all reviews
Son of Saul

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Fort McCoy 50% 70% Fort McCoy Watchlist The Immigrant 85% 60% The Immigrant Watchlist Labyrinth of Lies 83% 78% Labyrinth of Lies Watchlist The Stanford Prison Experiment 84% 75% The Stanford Prison Experiment Watchlist Freedom 0% 52% Freedom Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis During World War II, a Jewish worker (Géza Röhrig) at the Auschwitz concentration camp tries to find a rabbi to give a child a proper burial.
Director
László Nemes
Producer
Gábor Sipos, Gábor Rajna
Screenwriter
Clara Royer, László Nemes
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Hungarian National Film Fund
Rating
R (Some Graphic Nudity|Disturbing Violent Content)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 18, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.8M
Runtime
1h 47m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Most Popular at Home Now