How a debut director captured the unimaginable horror of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: László Nemes transformed Holocaust cinema by narrowing the lens. Instead of broad historical spectacle, his debut film focuses entirely on the claustrophobic, sensory experience of a single prisoner. By limiting the field of vision and prioritizing immersive sound, the film forces viewers to confront the unbearable reality of the crematoria.

The 2015 Hungarian drama Son of Saul follows Saul Ausländer, a member of the Sonderkommando—prisoners forced to assist in the operation of gas chambers. The narrative spans roughly thirty-six hours, tracking Saul’s obsessive, singular mission to secure a proper religious burial for a boy he believes is his son. This quest unfolds against the backdrop of a planned uprising, yet the film remains resolutely focused on Saul’s immediate, often blurred surroundings.

Director László Nemes, who co-wrote the script with Clara Royer, drew inspiration from The Scrolls of Auschwitz, a collection of testimonies from Sonderkommando members. To achieve a sense of radical intimacy, the production utilized a 40mm lens and the narrow Academy aspect ratio, creating a shallow focus that keeps the background obscured. Sound designer Tamás Zányi complemented this visual strategy with an acoustic landscape recorded in eight languages, ensuring the audience relies as much on what they hear as what they see.

The film’s production was a feat of persistence. After facing rejection from potential partners in France, Germany, Israel, and Austria, the €1.5 million budget was secured through the Hungarian National Film Fund, tax credits, and the Claims Conference. Shot in just 28 days in Budafok, the film eschewed theatrical melodrama in favor of a restrained, documentary-like intensity. This approach earned widespread critical acclaim, including the Grand Prix at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

While some critics compared the work to earlier Holocaust dramas like The Grey Zone, Nemes explicitly rejected such parallels, describing his project as an anti-spectacle. By avoiding the over-expression common in historical epics, the film attempts to capture the fragmented, dehumanizing experience of the camp. It remains a polarizing yet lauded landmark, with philosophers and critics alike praising its modesty and its refusal to simplify the moral complexities of survival.

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