Son of Saul

There are always movies which I would never really need to see again, but where that statement doesn't immediately mean that it's the equivalent of a bad film. 

Holocaust films are almost all in this category for me. It was one of the darkest moments in human history and often the movies based on the event are hard to watch, observe, conceive, and even quantify for me. It was such a large scale atrocity that it's almost hard for me to believe it happened. Somewhere out there is a quote that states something along the lines of: "a single death is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a statistic" and I often find myself trying to remind myself that all of these millions and millions and millions of people that died horrific deaths were people with lives and personalities and hopes and dreams and families. When we see all these images of humans being treated like cattle from that time, personally, it's desensitizing...like I want to resist the belief that it could have really been like that. Sometimes films on the topic can help us to regain perspective and help humanize the victims of such an inhuman act. 

Son of Saul is one such film. 

Currently it's the front runner to win the Best Foreign Film Oscar award, for good reason, and I was encouraged to go see it once it made its slow-but-sure trip to one of Denver's indie theaters. Other than being told "it's really well done" and knowing it was about the Holocaust, I knew nothing about it. Sometimes that can be both a good or bad thing, but I think with Saul, I went in with just the right amount of info. Obviously, there aren't really any spoilers as we know about these tragic events through history texts, but there's still something to be said for a borderline blind viewing. 

One of these men hopefully went to hell. Can you guess which one?

Fighting for what he believes is right.

Son of Saul tells the story of Saul Auslander (Geza Rohrig) once he has already been in a concentration camp for what seems like a while. He's fairly desensitized to all that's happening around him and he's a member of a special part of Jews that are kept alive. That's not a good thing because his job is to funnel new camp members into the "showers", rifle through their things looking for jewels, gather the bodies to take to the furnace or outdoor cremation, and clean the floors of the "showers". If that's not the worst assignment in the world, then I don't know what is. Saul's greatest achievement is how much the film makes you feel like you're in the middle of all these horrifying actions, through a well-used approach. The camera, for about 98% of the film, remains tight on Saul, either directly over his shoulder or right in front of him. The background is mostly blurry while the foreground remains clear. It's pretty jarring at first, and there are times where I even didn't like the close ups, but I think that was part of the point. It makes you really uncomfortable at times, mainly during hectic scenes. My only legitimate complaint about it would be that I think the camera's focus was poorly chosen at times as I was straining to try to see what was behind or near the character. 

Overall though, it's this chosen camera angle that makes Saul special. The story is simple, but touching as Saul tries to give "his son" a proper burial among all the chaos. The film tries to make a brief mystery out of whether or not the boy is his son, hence the quotations, and I found that to be the most useless aspect of a film that makes nearly every scene count. Still though, his plight his touching and we feel as if we're a time traveling apparition because of the camera work, making Saul's personal story our own. However, the nightmares are also our own and this is not an easy film to watch. There are highly disturbing sequences here and I would caution those who may be close to the Holocaust (either by familial ties or sensitivity) to be wary going in. Saul doesn't revel in its violence or challenging scenes, but they're still present and every so often when I'd remind myself that this was all historically accurate, it made my stomach turn. 

Fighting for everything...

Even with this unique approach, I found that the cinematography in Son of Saul was pretty fantastic, and having let the film sit in my mind now for a day or so, it's much more haunting than I anticipated. The chaotic scenes have great sound editing and truly feel hectic, confusing, and scary. My only real complaint of the film is one that I probably only share personally, but I think it would have benefited from an original score, particularly a great one. I understand why director, Laszlo Nemes, chose not to have one, I just believe it would have added more to the film whereas I think he probably perceived that it would have taken away from it.

Son of Saul is not necessarily a film I recommend. I mean how could I encourage someone to go sit through those horrors again? But if you so choose to attend a screening, you'll be seeing an incredibly well made, uniquely captured, and powerful film. It will stick with you for a while; the story, Saul's character, and the imagery sears into your memory effortlessly. That's the mark of a great film, but one that is hard to watch nonetheless. 

CONS:

• At times I found the focus of the camera a bit off/opposite of what I'd liked it to be 
• The mystery surrounding Saul's son (is he?/isn't he?) didn't work quite like I think the director thought it would. For me, it took me out of an otherwise immersive film
• A poignant original score would have been welcomed

PROS:

• A powerful, simple story that sheds some rays of humanity in a man who's lost most of his through consequence of being in the camp
• Powerful, moving ending
• The choice of POV camera angle is a stroke of near genius. It may be disorienting at times and hard to swallow at first, but then you recognize that Nemes wants you to be uncomfortable and that's often exactly what you are 
• Really striking imagery of the atrocities. Very hard to watch in certain sequences, but it's not without its impact
• Great central performance from Rohrig
• A film that won't leave your mind for long after you see it 

Rath's Review Score: 9/10