The 2015 Hungarian drama of a Sonderkommando prisoner at Auschwitz forced to load dead Jewish bodies into crematoria for the Nazis has just won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.
Directed by László Nemes and co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer, the plot follows a 36-hour period in the life of Saul, who discovers among the bodies a barely-living young boy.
Believing the child to be his young son and unable to save his life, he instead focuses on finding a rabbi to at least provide his child with a proper Jewish burial.
There are few among U.S. war veterans, American Jewry, their relations and their friends who would not be touched by this film.
First-time feature director Nemes accepted the award Sunday night for the film.
“Even in the darkest hours of mankind, there might be a voice within us that allows us to remain human. That’s the hope of this film,” he said.
It is the ninth Hungarian film to be nominated for the honor, but the first one to win.
Twenty-four hours earlier, “Son of Saul” took the Indie Spirit for Best International Film and a win in its category at the Golden Reel Awards. The film was also shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It also took the 73rd Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in last month.
A Sony Pictures Classic picked up in Cannes (where it won the Grand Jury Prize last May) from Films Distribution, “Son of Saul” was released in the United States in December and has since grossed approximately $1.3 million.