Son of Saul is not only an excellent but also a brave, uncompromised and extremely important film, especially at the present time when once again in central Europe, camps are opened, when people are encircled by wire and their movement is restrained. Of course, the circumstances are not the same, although the ideological sign and scheme can be linked. It's important that such film comes from Hungary, currently notorious for racism and xenophobia.
Willingly or not, this film warns and threatens that history can be repeated, but it also gives hope that, while conscious of it, the world will not leave the devil.
Son of Saul is not one of those commercial films about the Holocaust, those politically correct, calculating "tear festivals" hoping for rewards through audience sensation, hitting low, playing on pathetic and overly emotional. Son of Saul is a very unique film that strikes directly, fiercely, grabs the dice and does not let go.
The year is 1944 and the Nazis are already losing the war. This fact, however, doesn't in any case go hand in hand with the Jews in the death camps.
It's not like the freedom is around the corner, so they only need to wait, but, on the contrary, the "final solution" works even more quickly, more thoroughly and more efficiently. Out of hatred or from the pragmatic, banal evil of fear for which the evidence should be abolished and cleaned, nevertheless, the industry of death is grieving, for full steam and in three shifts.
It's not only "employed" by the fanatism blinded by the banally evil Germans and their allies, but also by the "Sonderkommando" unit composed of Jewish prisoners (marked with a large red "X" on the back) that maintained the daily functions of the camp. They were not directly involved in the killing of their fellow countrymen and other prisoners, but they led them to the gas chambers, dismantled their belongings and mortal remains, burned down and removed the corpses, cleaned the stoves ... In this way, they prolonged their lives for perhaps a few months , although they knew what awaited them one day when their name was on the list.
From a humanistic point of view, they survived hell day by day. However, we still don't have a unified court of history regarding the "Sonderkommando" unit. One of these "elephants in the room" is ignored, others are arguing whether they were willing accomplices in the greatest crime in history or simply didn't have a choice and then, accordingly, should surviving people from these units be seen as heroes or as criminals.
One of the "sonderkomandos" is also our hero Saul (Géza Röhrig), forever stooped, with pale and non-expressive face. It could be said that he is a ghoust that walks, an empty shell that carries out its work mechanically and distant. As long as he doesn't find motivation to work at some point. Namely, in the last "contingent" of the killed, he recognizes his son who survived the chamber, but not the doctor.
Undisclosed, and not important, whether it's really a son or a product of a paternal fantasy of a disturbed mind, he merely decides to give him at least a decent burial in accordance with the Jewish rite. For this, he needs a rabbi who will read the prayer, but also that the body is kept intact until that moment, which again requires a detailed organization, guidance and walking on the verge of death.
Son of Saul is a rather unusual film that strikes directly, fiercely and doesn't let go. It's visible by tempo, by style, by focus and by the content of the film. Part of the horror is visible, but much larger remains are just implied. The bodies on the bundles, the bodies we see everywhere, but they are on the periphery of the frame. The characters are not caricatured, but they are all so disgustingly human, from Saul himself, through his colleagues - "sonderkomandos" to the Germans. Everyone is all over their heads and they are all corrupt. The hell has already devoured them, and it can be seen, but in particular it can be heard : an arrhythmic and loud sound scheme composed of a whistle in the distance, a dead mechanic sounds and occasional shooting follows us and chases through the whole film and beyond.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSabBa9IWYs The elaborated visual identity of the film is a special story. Shot in color, but in antique 4: 3 format, on 35 mm tape, Son of Saul at any moment gives the impression of distress. This is further enhanced by the fact that the camera, which is masterly controlled by Mátyás Erdély, never stands, but circles around our protagonist who is constantly on the move, and that the whole movie is composed of perhaps twenty such continuous incisors.
László Nemes is a debutant in the full-length format, but it can be seen by whom he was taught. He was assistant to Béla Tarr in "The Man from London" and took over some of the expressions from him, let's say a long shot and insist on an analog movie camera. But, here, similarities cease. The tempo is quite different, even manic, there is a lot in the frame at all times, so the movements and follow-up of the protagonist are also something that is more typical of Dardenne's brothers than for Tarr.
At the heart of all this is Géza Röhrig, a non-professional actor, a schoolteacher, an Hungarian poet with an address in New York, a former illegal immigrant and a religious Hasid, in a word, a man who deserves a film about himself. He is brilliant as Saul, he stoically and courageously carries his pain as his own, and shows huge amount of raw talent and unmistakable presence. The film is so much based on him and spins around him (sometimes literally), it's hard to imagine anyone else in that role.
Note: This was my translation from Croatian to English from Lupiga article by M.Stoiljkovic