Son of Saul employs the formal mechanics of filmmaking to turn [its] ... questions back in on and around themselves, doing what cinema does best in the hands of great filmmakers: showing by not showing, telling by not telling.

| Aug 25, 2018

Perhaps one of the most striking works of art about the Holocaust yet made.

| Feb 1, 2018

Son of Saul is a masterwork that leads viewers right to the gates of hell.

| Mar 7, 2017

Important as it is essential, the movie is a remarkable achievement deserving of every honor and ounce of acclaim it has so far achieved, watching it a catastrophically profound experience I'm not soon to forget.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 16, 2016

It's an extraordinary method of making this unfathomable act personal, a formalist experiment that yields stunning emotional dividends.

| May 3, 2016

The whole film is a crushing experience, giving you very little chance to regain perspective.

| Original Score: 5/5 | May 1, 2016

A film that plunges you, shoulder height, into the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau during the final days of the war.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 29, 2016

It has sometimes been suggested that there's little more to be said, in cinematic terms, [about the Holocaust].... The single-minded power and visceral immediacy of Nemes's achievement, rightly acclaimed and awarded, prove otherwise.

| Apr 28, 2016

A story about morsels of humanity rescued from an unspeakable hell. If there's a film to feel trapped in, this is it.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 28, 2016

I can only say the film is, by its own measure, a triumph. Engineered with virtuoso skill, every moment screams You Are Here. And here is hell.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 28, 2016

Unthinkable as it seems, there is a glimmer of light in this appalling darkness, infinitesimal yet inextinguishable. Ultimately, it is that glimmer which makes Son of Saul so traumatic.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 27, 2016

It's hard to overpraise Son of Saul. It is one of the greatest films ever made.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 4, 2016

The brute force is punishing, but there's real moral and intellectual rigour behind it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 29, 2016

To say that this is a challenging experience is an understatement.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 26, 2016

Nemes, in his first feature, is a bold, experimental voice with a clear vision -- a filmmaker to watch and study for years to come.

| Feb 25, 2016

It's a harrowing reminder of exactly why we must never forget.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 25, 2016

Formally riveting, emotionally shattering, and astonishingly confident.

| Feb 17, 2016

Brutal and brilliant, "Son of Saul" may be the most harrowing film ever made about the Holocaust, which should give you an idea of how hard it is to watch.

| Original Score: A | Feb 12, 2016

An appalling, overwhelming descent into the heart of the Holocaust.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 4, 2016

A harrowing immersion into the lives of a lesser-known caste of prisoners in the camps. The film's ultimate message, however, is a puzzle.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 29, 2016