Different, but worth seeing.

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2016)

There was a considerable amount of press and accolades for this Hungarian film so, naturally, the sucker that I am for foreign language flicks, I had to give it a shot. First, let me get this out of the way - Saul's focus and decision to bury that unknown kid, to me, seemed preposterous. I actually ended up not rooting for him because, well, his decision was horrible. Thrust with the responsibility of bringing back explosive powder to teach these heartless Nazis a lesson and he fails? In that sense, Saul just comes off as a weakling, and a misguided one at that.
On a positive note, the movie is hard hitting. Shot in constant close up, the idea was to put the viewer in Saul's shoes. The details given to this presentation was stunning. If I was tasked to writing this movie, it would've taken me ten years and more than a few bottles of vodka to complete. The acting all around was impressive. The movie moved along at a rather nice clip, too; didn't drag like some movies could.
Would I have liked to see a point to why Saul was going through all this trouble to bury a kid and not help his fellow inmates defeat the devil that is the National Socialist Party? That would've been nice. In the end, though, I felt a little let down, almost as if I was watching a movie for nothing; well, maybe the kinetic action, but not the bleak story itself. I wonder if Saul knew that they were all doomed anyway, so why bother fighting? Eh, I thought he could've at least picked up a rifle and take down a few of his oppressors. That was the disappointment.