Capturing The Holocaust in the most realistic approach possible

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2016)

László Nemes' thrilling depiction of the horrifying nature of The Holocaust in his Oscar- nominated film Son Of Saul results in a unique and original take on the experience of being a Jewish prisoner during the genocide, which captures the true reality of life inside the walls of a Nazi death camp.
The film is set in 1944 during the final years of the Second World War and tells the story of Saul Ausländer (Géza Röhrig), a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz. Saul works as a member of a Sonderkommando group, a unit composed of Jewish prisoners who are forced to aid with the disposal of gas chamber victims. One day while cleaning up after an extermination, Saul is staggered when he comes across the body of a young boy who he believes to be his own son. Saul salvages the body, and the plot revolves around Saul's quest to find a Rabbi among the hundreds of flocking prisoners in an effort to give the boy a proper and respectable burial.
The camera follows Saul around the camp almost like a documentary crew throughout most of the film, and relies heavily on close ups that limits much of the view of action around him. The outcome creates a boxed-in effect, with little or no room for breathing in the close quarters of the crammed camp. The overall tone of uneasiness in the film is captured through the anxiety created by the tight spaces of the camera, which further emphasizes the confinement that the walls of the camp create.
Nemes' decision to use long takes and few cuts gives the film a documentary feel to it, and as a result allows for the audience to have a more realistic viewing experience. The addition of shaky camera movements and uncomfortable camera angles further strengthens the realism of the film.
Sound is another powerful tool that Nemes uses in this film to capture the horrifying experience of life inside the Auschwitz camp. The use of emotional background music isn't exploited in the film, but rather the story depends on the piercing cries of those facing death and suffering to strike the audience aurally. We rarely ever see death occur in the film, but the frightening screams and desperate pleads of those facing the gas chambers is more than enough to paint the horrible image of death in our heads. Again, Nemes aims to capture the terror in its actuality.
László Nemes' debut feature film is a Holocaust film like no other. It's an experience that forces audiences to accept the harsh reality of what actually happened inside the walls of the extermination camps. It's edgy and tense, and the stylistic techniques is what makes this film so successful in capturing that reality.
This isn't a film blanketed with censorship or unrealistic Hollywood conventions. It is a film that presents the evil and horror that was The Holocaust in the most realistic manner possible.