Verena Lueken, film critic for Germany's daily 'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,' asked after the premiere, 'Can anyone imagine the filming process? The relationship between the actors and the characters they are playing?' She reached the conclusion: 'There are good reasons for the taboo that the Holocaust should not be the stuff of fiction. Is it legitimate for a fictional feature film to tackle the topic of concentration camps? Should brutal deeds, murders and gassing be portrayed by actors? The debate is not new - it has previously surfaced in literature, theater, art and philosophy. 'Son of Saul,' on the other hand, is characterized by sober simplicity, which makes it all the more impactful.Īfter the premiere in Cannes, critics touched on a fundamental problem in the film. Set over 24 hours in 1944 and almost chaining itself to its lead character (so close does the camera stick to him) the film gives us Saul (Géza Röhrig), a member of the Sonderkommando the. 'They often try to tell a story of survivor and heroism,' while at the same time romanticizing the past. Hungarian films had been nominated for the foreign-language Oscar eight times before this awards season.

Movie Times by Cities Movie Times by States Movie Times by Zip Codes Movie Times. Nemes explained that he had already been frustrated by Holocaust films. Select Theater Century Park Place 20 and XD Century 20 El Con and XD RoadHouse Cinemas Crossroads Century Gateway 12 Century Tucson Marketplace and XD Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18 AMC Loews Foothills 15 Century Theatres at the Oro Valley Marketplace. 'I wanted to show the story as simply and archaically as possible.' That's what differentiates 'Son of Saul' from scores of other Holocaust films over the decades. He didn't intend to show everything that went on in the camp, he added. Nemes said he didn't want to take the position of a concentration camp survivor, explaining his aesthetic approach. The intense use of sound lends the film a great deal of authenticity, to the point that it practically has the effect of a documentary. Only the main protagonist and his direct surroundings are put in focus.Įverything else - even the crimes committed by the Nazis - seems blurry. Unusually, the film is shown in a square format, which pulls the viewer even more into the picture and the happenings in the camp. In an oppressive way, Nemes shows how courageous but also absurd this scheme is. Saul Ausländer (Geza Röhrig, right) comes into conflict with the guards over his burial plans

Son of saul movie times