directed by László Nemes, drama, 107 min, eng subtitles
written by László Nemes, Clara Royer
with Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Sándor Zsótér, Todd Charmont
October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the corpse of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child's body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourning prayer, Kaddish, and offer the boy a proper burial.
The first feature film by László Nemes plunges its viewer directly into the heart of a concentration camp. It does not tell the story of the Holocaust, but the simple story of one man caught in a dreadful situation: the camera follows him throughout the film, revealing only his immediate surroundings, and creating an organic film space of reduced proportions close to human perception. Thus, not simply witnessing or observing, we actually descend into hell with Saul
Awards
Cannes International Film Festival 2015 (Grand Prix, FIPRESCI Prize, Francois Chalais Prize, Vulcain Award for Best Sound to Tamás Zányi)
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