91
Metascore
49 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100CineVueJohn BleasdaleCineVueJohn BleasdaleSon of Saul is not simply a good film, it feels like an urgent and important one, a warning from history.
- 100The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawBy any standards, this would be an outstanding film, but for a debut it is remarkable.
- 100HitfixGregory EllwoodHitfixGregory EllwoodIn terms of filmmaking prowess, "remarkable" may not do Laszlo Nemes' holocaust drama "Son of Saul" justice.
- 100Screen DailyJonathan RomneyScreen DailyJonathan RomneyUsing techniques of distanciation that sometimes make it an alienating, even confusing experience, László Nemes’s cogent, strikingly confident debut is harrowing, but cinematically rewarding.
- 100The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorUnusual for a Holocaust drama, the film offers no false hope of rescue or resurrection, but does insist that our bearing witness matters.
- 90VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThe result is as grim and unyielding a depiction of the Holocaust as has yet been made on that cinematically overworked subject — a masterful exercise in narrative deprivation and sensory overload that recasts familiar horrors in daringly existential terms.
- 83The PlaylistOliver LytteltonThe PlaylistOliver LytteltonThough it has a few elements of its construction that might be questionable, it's mostly a powerful, thoughtful, and visually striking picture.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijUtterly uneasy to watch but strikingly and confidently assembled, the film is a powerful aural and visual experience that doesn’t quite manage to sustain itself over the course of its running time, but is a remarkable — and remarkably intense — experience nonetheless.