A story about the burial of a son, what does the director want to say

Gerardo 2022-03-27 09:01:13

At the Cannes Film Festival last year, I heard that this stunning debut work, and then won the Oscar at the beginning of the year, has brought the reputation of "Son of Saul" to a new height.

In fact, there are many excellent films about World War II, such as "The Pianist", "Life is Beautiful", "Black Book", etc., which depict and reflect on World War II from almost every angle. However, returning to "Son of Sol", it still brings another kind of movie viewing experience.

Most of the previous movies about war were about saving people. "Son of Thor" is a story of "saving the corpse". Specifically, there was a dispatcher named Sol in the concentration camp. At the beginning of the story, he found his son when he was cleaning up the corpse. I worked hard to find a Jewish priest from outside, so that the priest could pray when my son was buried. For such a story, you can also say that it is "burial for the son".

Compared with the story of saving people, the story of "saving the corpse" is even more cruel. Directors and screenwriters have placed the souls of the characters in a low-to-the-earth position when the story is set. Of course, the lowering of this value is actually the director's test of the bottom line of human nature.

From Sol, if he hadn't encountered the body of his son, he wouldn't have been too impressed by the scene of the corpse in front of him. Of course, not only Sol, but also all the prisoners in the concentration camp. They can be selfish enough to become Nazi executioners in order to survive. For human selfishness, the director is full of a helpless irony. At the end of the story, Sol struggles to escape the camp with his son's body on his back, but the accomplices and the priest are so busy fleeing that no one cares that he wants to bury his son. In that moment, Thor faces the choice of life or death. Finally, he jumped into the river with his son's body on his back, revealing Thor's cowardice and selfishness. In the end, the son's body was released from his hand and floated into the depths of the river, which was reasonable.

From another point of view, "saving the corpse" is also the story of "redemption". Faced with people questioning that the body was not his son, and wondering why he was looking for the priest, Sol frequently said "for those who died". But Sol's redemption contains a hypocritical accusation of seeking perfection. In his bones, he is no nobler than others, and all his actions can even be understood as a kind of helplessness. Recalling the title "Son of Thor", "son" refers to the next generation, with a concept of blood and race, which naturally also has exclusivity. Thor saves only himself, not people's suffering.

So everyone thinks Sol is too selfish and annoying. Looking at the comments, I saw a sentence, to the effect that the director believes that Sol himself is also a Nazi. After watching the movie, I feel that this sentence basically sums up the theme of the whole movie, that is, what the director wants to say is not to make everyone sympathize with the weak, but to reflect on the evil inherent in the weak, which sometimes even wins the public with a kind of hypocrisy. sympathy. Just imagine, if this story was packaged by other people, it must have become a sensational story.

If war affects only those who experience it, then reflection on war is not often brought up. The cruelty of war has magnified a certain evil that many people are unaware of. Self-preservation is associated with conformity effects. We are faced with so much information and news every day, and we are more and more inclined to follow the opinions of kol to judge the truth of things. If the mind of a nation never grows up, I'll always think of the ending of the movie: a naive little boy who discovers Sol's hiding place, turns to leave, a pair of Nazi hands grabs him, and then a burst of gunfire Voice.

In addition, the director's hand-held photography is almost close to the protagonist, making people immersive. The scenes that are so cruel that people can't bear to look at them seem to be torturing the audience: If you were on the scene, what would you do?

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Extended Reading

Son of Saul quotes

  • Abraham Warszawski: Who's this boy?

    Saul Ausländer: My son.

    Abraham Warszawski: But you have no son.

    Saul Ausländer: I do. I have to bury him.

    Abraham Warszawski: You don't need a rabbi for that.

    Saul Ausländer: At least he'll do what's right.

  • Saul Ausländer: I have to take care of my son. He's not from my wife.

    Abraham Warszawski: When did you last see him?

    [pause]

    Abraham Warszawski: You have no son.