Son of Saul

Story

Auschwitz, October 1944: Saul Ausländer is a member of a special unit consisting of Jewish prisoners that have to assist the Germans in the mass liquidation of inmates. Saul works in the crematorium and one day finds the body of a boy whom he thinks he recognizes as his son. He saves the body from the gas oven so as to bury it with dignity. Even when it becomes ever clearer that his special unit is also threatened with extermination and an uprising breaks out, Saul sticks to his plan: he wants to pay his last respects to his son. Son of Saul does without showing the unshowable, the horror unfolds in the mind of the viewer via the soundtrack. The drama won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and the FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize.

Director

LÁSZLÓ NEMES (*1977) is the son of Hungarian director András Jeles. His short Türelem was shown at the Venice film festival and nominated for the European Film Prize in 2008. Son of Saul is his feature film debut.

Trailer