Rent Son of Saul (2015)

3.6 of 5 from 525 ratings
1h 42min
Rent Son of Saul (aka Saul Fia) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Saul Auslander (Géza Röhrig) is a member of the Sonderkommando, the Jewish prisoners forced to assist in the machinery of the Nazi concentration camps. While at work, he discovers the body of a boy he recognises as his son. As the Sonderkommando plan a rebellion, Saul vows to carry out an impossible task: to save the child's body from the flames and to find a rabbi to offer the boy a proper burial.
Actors:
, , , Todd Charmont, , Gergö Farkas, , , , , , , , , , Márton Ágh, , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
Gábor Rajna, Gábor Sipos
Writers:
László Nemes, Clara Royer
Others:
László Nemes
Aka:
Saul Fia
Studio:
Curzon / Artificial Eye
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Drama, Thrillers
Countries:
Hungary
Awards:

2017 BAFTA Best Foreign Film

2016 Oscar Best Foreign Film

2015 Cannes Grand Prize

BBFC:
Release Date:
04/07/2016
Run Time:
102 minutes
Languages:
French Dolby Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 2.0, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Greek Dolby Digital 2.0, Greek Dolby Digital 5.1, Hebrew Dolby Digital 2.0, Hebrew Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 2.0, Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 2.0, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Slovakian Dolby Digital 2.0, Slovakian Dolby Digital 5.1, Yiddish Dolby Digital 2.0, Yiddish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.37:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Q&A with Director Laszlo Nemes
  • Behind the Scenes GoPro Footage
  • Deleted Scene
  • Short Film 'With a Little Patience'
  • Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
04/07/2016
Run Time:
102 minutes
Languages:
French DTS 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 2.0, German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Greek DTS 2.0, Greek DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Hebrew DTS 2.0, Hebrew DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Hungarian DTS 2.0, Hungarian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Polish DTS 2.0, Polish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Russian DTS 2.0, Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Slovakian DTS 2.0, Slovakian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Yiddish DTS 2.0, Yiddish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.37:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Q&A with Director Laszlo Nemes
  • Behind the Scenes GoPro Footage
  • Deleted Scene
  • Short Film 'With a Little Patience'
  • Trailer

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Reviews (11) of Son of Saul

Deeply depressing Holocaust film, which is nevertheless a must-see. - Son of Saul review by PV

Spoiler Alert
06/08/2016

This really is a depressing movie. From Hungary. But there is so little dialogue in the whole film, it is almost mimed and coulod be in any language.

It's filmed in hand-held camera style - like Blair Witch Project or other movies which aim to create Cinama Verite and that LIVE feel which puts the audience in the midst of the action - or, as here, the horror.

What really makes this movies, though, is the way it shows the workaday reality of life at a concentration camp - it's all scrubbing, cleaning, sorting, obeying orders, as at an abattoir. That is quite unlike glossy Holocaust Hollywood movies. This is all the more horrible for its minimalism.

There is also interesting ambiguity: is the body the man's son, or merely a symbol of innocence?

It's all relentlessly gloomy and sad, but a must-see movie and possibly the best Hungarian film I have ever seen.

4 stars.

5 out of 6 members found this review helpful.

Cleverly shot but completely unengaging - Son of Saul review by RW

Spoiler Alert
15/12/2016

This is a film about the horrors of the concentration camp and a hard-to-understand quest of one of its workers; it's bleak, cleverly shot and truly horrifying. Some scenes are more like a slasher film such as Hostel than the kind of war film usually made.

The big problem with it is that there is absolutely nothing to engage the viewer, the basic premise of the main character's drive throughout the film just seems crazy (even allowing for the insanity of the place he's in and the madness of the Nazis). It's unremittingly depressing, nothing to cheer you in the way of, say, La vita è bella, absolutely nothing to lift the spirit anywhere in the film at all. All that is left at the end of the film is a feeling of utter futility; coupled with the lack of coherent story and the confusing shallow depth of field it's a deeply unsatisfactory watch.

I really could not recommend this as a film to watch and I struggle to understand why this has won so many plaudits.

2 out of 6 members found this review helpful.

Intense, not a pleasure, but worth watching - Son of Saul review by RCO

Spoiler Alert
21/05/2018

Shot almost entirely in closeup of Saul's face with an impressive soundscape building an intense atmosphere of random horror. Creates a convincing impression of how the people caught in that situation must have dealt with what was happening around them. Action is glimpsed out of focus in the background, dialogue is minimal, everything is held inside blanking out the horror around them.

Unremitting, it almost became tedious about half way through - there is not really a coherent narrative, how could there be without it being either trivialising or portentous, it just IS.

As a piece of film-making it is impressive. As a representation of how humans can deal with inhumanity it is convincing. If you can watch it without bringing your personal baggage about WW2 and what happened in Hungary/Germany then it is worth a viewing but don't expect to be entertained.

2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

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