Son of Saul

R

Released Dec 18, 2015

1 hr. 47 min.

History

Drama

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List

96%

233 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

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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.

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Alec B

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

Full Review

Geo3 F

Maybe it's me but I watch a lot of holocaust films and this one felt meh compared to the others, as the language was different and subtitles didn't add much depth, knowing the background story's importance in society bumps my rating by one star, but to be honest is not a movie that you will remember for more than a day.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I don’t understand why this movie has so high ratings, the camera work is annoying and upsetting, during the whole movie all you see is the main character’s (Saul) back, shoulders or face on 2/3 of the screen, what little you can make up behind him is blurry, and you have to go by sound and imagination. Yes, we all now what happened at the extermination camps, but still, looking at the same face, shoulders and neck for 100 minutes is a little much, specially considering the whole story revolves around him trying to find a rabbi to properly bury his son, who is already dead at the beginning of the movie and ready to be thrown into the incinerators. A ridiculous idea considering he hides the body on different spots throughout the camp with somehow nobody running into it, while at the same time he seems to move freely between gates looking for said rabbi, whom, by the way, he never finds. This is a story based on the EXCELLENT book Auschwitz, a Doctor’s Eyewitness Account, by Dr. Miklos Nyiszli. Do yourself a favor and read the book. 10 times more harrowing than this movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/09/23

Full Review

Thomas C

Why this movie has such great reviews is beyond me. This had an extremely poor film choice. I dont know if it was to hide poor acting, poor movie sets, poor budgeting or was some "artistic style" but spending over 2 hrs staring at the back of somebody's head with nothing else in focus drove me insane. Might as well go stare at the back of somebody's head for 2 hrs waiting in line at the county fair for a ride. At least there would be some payoff there. But this was just out 2/3 screen shoulders and hair for the entire movie. The dialog was poor, the main character was unlikable. You couldn't tell who was saying what since nobody was in focus or looking at the camera. Just all around poor movie. I think the director was trying to make it seem like the character was only focusing on himself and thats why he was the only thing in focus but therefore 1000 more ways they could have portrayed that. 0 stars.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Laura B

Far from trapping us with the classic re-enactment of Nazi cruelty, filmmaker László Nemes' proposal is as transgressive as Soah (1985) was in its time, fleeing the trauma of the Holocaust within the film frame itself. In fact, there is an absence, a void in the shot. We see nothing because there is nothing to see, as the philosopher Didi Huberman affirms, for whom it is not possible to offer a response in the face of so much barbarism.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/06/23

Full Review

Suha A

Breathtaking! Utilizing the burial story as an excuse to show to the viewers some of the most detailed scenes of what took place in concentration camps, is a brilliant idea. Focusing the shot on Saul's face while running all the atrocities in the vague background of the scene. Brilliant story telling, brilliant acting and wonderful photography. Courageous approach to showing documented details of those crimes while still following the thread of a touching story about the "son's" burial, with one-sequence shooting for each scene.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/23

Full Review

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László Nemes

Director

Géza Röhrig

Saul

Kecske Molnár Levente

Abraham

Todd Charmont

Bearded Man

Sándor Zsótér

Doctor

Marcin Czarnik

Feigenbaum

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Son of Saul: Trailer 2

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Son of Saul: Trailer 1

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Elissa Suh

StageBuddy.com

Son of Saul is a film of considerable virtuosity, a harrowing film like no other before it.

Mar 16, 2020

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

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.

Aug 25, 2018

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Jordan Hoffman

Times of Israel

Perhaps one of the most striking works of art about the Holocaust yet made.

Feb 1, 2018

Full Review

Jordan Brooks

Vague Visages

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.

Aug 1, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

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.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 25, 2022

Full Review

Olly Richards

NME (New Musical Express)

If the intention is to give us even a fleeting experience of what it could have been like to live in constant fear, hoping for a breath of humanity in a life shaped by evil, then it has achieved that entirely.

May 5, 2021

Full Review

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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
Executive Producer: Judit Stalter
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
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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