Son of Saul, a unique and harrowing vision of the Holocaust

In his stunning directorial debut, Nemes created a unique and harrowing vision of the Holocaust through the eyes of a survivor.

Nemes' formal experiment, shot digitally in tight close-ups that place us in the midst of unspeakable horrors unfolding in real time, is a masterstroke that both terrifies and provokes empathy.

Newcomer Géza Röhrig was utterly moving in the role of Saul Auslander, who follows the routines of life in Auschwitz to fulfil his mission to give his son a dignified burial.

Nemes never depicted the atrocities directly, but through the reflection in the eyes or the background activity he implied that the terrors were viscerally felt.

It was a technique that both craven Hollywood and its lauded art-house colleagues have yet to match in audacity and success.

Without score or traditional narrative structure, each frame was both paralysing and haunting because of our proximity to the trauma.

The fact that Nemes was able to hold so much attention demonstrates his skill and the timelessness of the subject, as painful as it is to confront.

Saul's humanity, shown through his devotion to his buried son in the midst of collective dehumanisation, was heartbreaking in its simplicity and existential weight.

Nemes, and Röhrig, will surely speak to audiences for generations to come through this singular work, deserving of all praise. A once-in-a-lifetime artistic triumph.

It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016, the first Hungarian film to do so. A well-deserved recognition of its immense artistry and universal importance.

It won the Cannes Grand Prix, making Nemes the second Hungarian filmmaker to win the festival's second highest prize. Proof of his impact with audiences and discerning juries.

Röhrig won numerous best actor awards for his astonishingly vivid lead performance, establishing himself as one of the great acting discoveries of recent years.

It earned over $2 million at the US box office, impressive for an austere subtitled drama and an example of its resonant message reaching a wide audience.