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| Geza Rohrig |
In Hungarian and German with English subtitles
The Hungarian film "Son of Saul" is a remarkable film. Powerful, dark and expertly acted, it's a mesmerizing, heartbreaking tale of love, family and honor under the worst of circumstances that won a major prize (the Grand Prix) at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It is early October, 1944. Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig), a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz works as a Sonderkommando member, burning the dead. One day he finds the body of a boy he takes for his son. He tries to salvage the body from the flames, and find a rabbi to arrange a clandestine burial. Meanwhile other members of the Sonderkommando learn about their impending extermination, rise up and destroy the crematorium. Saul keeps focused on his own plan to pay the last honors to a son he never could take care of before. Directed and written by Lazlo Nemes in his feature directorial debut, the poignant but gritty "Son of Saul" takes you down a dark road few have travailed. It's an auspicious debut from Nemes, who wouldn't surprise me if he garnered a Best Director Oscar nomination for this, as well as from Hungarian poet Rohrig, so memorable here (his eyes speak volumes) as the titular character in his debut as actor. Shot by Mátyás Erdély ("James White"), the film's striking opening shot, a long tracking shot that follows Saul's winding path deep into the concentration camp, is an unforgettable one and one you won't soon forget, especially when you realize what is about to happen. It's also a stark, sad reminder of the many lives lost in an all-too recent genocide; on that note "Son of Saul" isn't the most uplifting of films, particularly its tragic ending, but it's a movie that will stay with you and even haunt you long after you leave the theater.
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