Perhaps one of the best fictional depictions of the Holocaust yet made, Son of Saul‘s lack of any melodrama and sentimentality are its strongest assets. It is bleak, remorselessly so, but by the end achieves something like transcendence and release.
László Nemes’s debut, about a prisoner at Auschwitz forced to work in the gas chambers, dramatises the concentration camps with great intelligence, seriousness and audacity.
The result is one of the year’s most powerful, unforgettable films.
Son of Saul: the horrors of the Holocaust, portrayed with a rare honesty
General release. Check local listings for show times.
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday May 20, 2016, until Wednesday May 25, 2016. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com