Intriguing portrait of one of mankinds biggest cruelties.

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2016)

What makes this film so fascinating is it's style. The film relies heavily on sounds instead of visuals. It tells it's own story while the camera is almost constantly being glued to it's main character. 99% of the film consists out of close up and medium shots. This combined with the 4:3 video format adds to the claustrophobic feel the cinematography creates. In most of the shots, only the main character is in focus, being almost entirely shot with 40 mm lenses. This adds up to the great style of this film. You feel trapped in the story of the main character and need the sounds to fully understand what's happening. This is a great choice because everyone knows the gruesome details of the holocaust already and it adds to the fact nobody knows what exactly happened, it's different to everyone's perception but the sounds tell you the horrible events.
The story is simple but effective. It follows a Hungarian prisoner who has to work as an executioner, cleaning the gas chambers until he finds a boy which he assumes is his son. He wants to do everything to give him a proper burial. It's about finding the tiniest piece of dignity in the most gruesome events. When the credits rolled, it left a remarkable impression. I felt relieved it was over while also being impressed by the film at the same time.