Saul fia (2015)

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.

Director:

László Nemes (as Nemes László)

Writers:

László Nemes (as Nemes László), Clara Royer

Stars:

Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 59 wins & 55 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Géza Röhrig	...	Saul Ausländer
Levente Molnár	...	Abraham Warszawski
Urs Rechn	...	Oberkapo Biederman
Todd Charmont	...	Bearded Prisoner
Jerzy Walczak	...	Rabbi Frankel
Gergö Farkas	...	Saul's Son
Balázs Farkas	...	Saul's Son
Sándor Zsótér	...	Dr. Miklos Nyiszli
Marcin Czarnik	...	Feigenbaum
Levente Orbán	...	Russian Prisoner
Kamil Dobrowolski	...	Mietek
Uwe Lauer	...	Oberscharführer Voss
Christian Harting	...	Oberscharführer Busch
Attila Fritz	...	Yankl (Young Prisoner)
Mihály Kormos	...	Schlojme

Storyline

Two days in the life of Saul Auslander, Hungarian prisoner working as a member of the Sonderkommando at one of the Auschwitz Crematoriums who, to bury the corpse of a boy he takes for his son, tries to carry out his impossible deed: salvage the body and find a rabbi to bury it. While the Sonderkommando is to be liquidated at any moment, Saul turns away of the living and their plans of rebellion to save the remains of a son he never took care of when he was still alive.

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Plot Keywords:

prisoner | auschwitz | corpse | hungarian | prison revolt | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent content, and some graphic nudity.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Spain]

Country:

Hungary

Language:

Hungarian Yiddish German Russian Polish French Greek Slovak Hebrew

Release Date:

11 June 2015 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

El hijo de Saúl

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

HUF 280,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,930, 20 December 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,777,043

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,659,121

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laokoon Filmgroup,Hungarian National Film Fund,Sam Spiegel International Lab

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Elie Wiesel, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, praised the film. The Romanian-born Holocaust survivor was deported in 1944 with his family to Auschwitz and later to Buchenwald.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Abraham Warszawski: You failed the living for the dead.
Saul Ausländer: We are dead already.

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Connections

Referenced in Filmbarátok Podcast: Episode #1.75 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Dream Faces
Written by William Marshall Hutchison
Performed by Elizabeth Spencer

User Reviews

Very well-researched movie

I do not understand how the previous commentators were able to add their opinion, since I saw the very first screening of the movie outside Cannes in the Művész arts cinema of Budapest tonight, on May 29, 2015.

The movie was followed by a discussion and Q&A session with the artists.

Director Nemes aimed to create a movie that is deprived of the post-war artifacts present in most Holocaust movies.

For this goal, he and his staff made substantial historical research to make the smallest details truthful. The shooting took place from less than $2 million, in a very short period (28 days). French, Israeli and German investors did not give money for the movie for fear of a loss.

As the director mentioned, a movie of this length is spliced together form 300 to 700 cuts these days. Theirs required only 80. You are in the camp, you are Saul Auslander. There is utter confusion, you do not know what awaits you in the next second. This is a reality movie with no happy ending that shakes you.