Son of Saul

A prisoner may know he is going to be executed but may not know specifically when or specifically how. All he knows is that it will be frightening. What does he think about? His executioners wonder what he thinks about as well. Those who ran the extermination camps for the Third Reich knew what the ultimate goal was, and knew that revolt, escape, rebellion or self-destruction were all thoughts that would be entertained by their doomed prisoners. Their plan was to keep their victims exhausted and starving. No time to think.

With brilliant use of a hand held camera, Director Laszlo Nemes creates an effect of furious activity. The film is void of background music, and the only sounds the audience hears are shouted orders, whispered conversations, gunshots, cries of anguish and mundane sounds such as footsteps, metal objects clanging against each other and wheels in need of grease.

Reza Rohrig is the principal actor in this film. When Nemes blurs the background to focus on his face, one wonders if insanity was one of his character's unspoken options. The film is not an exercise in laying guilt, in finger pointing. It is about men, sane or mad, attempting to hang on to their last vestige of morality and inner dignity.