Come and See, The Pianist and now Son of Saul, the only three movies to depict the true horrors of WW2. The world has yet to recover from the events. Every day one can find something on TV which relates to the holocaust, and at least once a week and articles regarding Auschwitz are to be published. There have been many movies made during the 21st century about WW2, almost too many. So what makes this Hungarian film stand out?
It is so shockingly realistic and grim which keeps the viewer disturbed and engaged through its 107-minute running time. We are constantly reminded of the horrific holocaust in our everyday lives, yet Son of Saul opened my eyes for what happened more than ever. The film takes place during a day and a half in Auschwitz, where we follow a prisoner who's work is to burn corpses. However, he finds moral when he wants to bury a body who he takes for his son.
Saul is the main perspective in the entire film. About everything around him is out of focus. Director Laszlo Nemes has created something beautiful yet horrific in the long takes of prisoners being brutally executed. These things are never the center of attention, but as Saul runs around the camp we see people getting shot, tortured and executed in horrific ways. Less is more is a common expression and this movie takes perhaps the best use of it.
We all know what happened in Auschwitz, we do not need close-ups of dead bodies. However, we need to be reminded of the horrible events and the sound of someone screaming is enough for us to know what is happening. Son of Saul is an incredibly intense film and it almost gave me a heart attack.
I have never dedicated so much thoughts to the victims of WW2. Son of Saul is a masterpiece that everybody should see. At a technical level, it achieves so much. The cinematography is amazing, the sound design is perhaps the best I have ever heard and everything is so well made. All the actors do a great job as well and at parts it felt like I was watching a documentary. The production design is just that good on top of all this. However, Son of Saul is so much more than just a film...
It's also a movie about humanity, choices we make and how it effects us. If the academy doesn't award Son of Saul the Oscar for best foreign language film then I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
It is so shockingly realistic and grim which keeps the viewer disturbed and engaged through its 107-minute running time. We are constantly reminded of the horrific holocaust in our everyday lives, yet Son of Saul opened my eyes for what happened more than ever. The film takes place during a day and a half in Auschwitz, where we follow a prisoner who's work is to burn corpses. However, he finds moral when he wants to bury a body who he takes for his son.
Saul is the main perspective in the entire film. About everything around him is out of focus. Director Laszlo Nemes has created something beautiful yet horrific in the long takes of prisoners being brutally executed. These things are never the center of attention, but as Saul runs around the camp we see people getting shot, tortured and executed in horrific ways. Less is more is a common expression and this movie takes perhaps the best use of it.
We all know what happened in Auschwitz, we do not need close-ups of dead bodies. However, we need to be reminded of the horrible events and the sound of someone screaming is enough for us to know what is happening. Son of Saul is an incredibly intense film and it almost gave me a heart attack.
I have never dedicated so much thoughts to the victims of WW2. Son of Saul is a masterpiece that everybody should see. At a technical level, it achieves so much. The cinematography is amazing, the sound design is perhaps the best I have ever heard and everything is so well made. All the actors do a great job as well and at parts it felt like I was watching a documentary. The production design is just that good on top of all this. However, Son of Saul is so much more than just a film...
It's also a movie about humanity, choices we make and how it effects us. If the academy doesn't award Son of Saul the Oscar for best foreign language film then I don't want to live on this planet anymore.