Comparison with The Grey Zone

From the 'Trivia' section:

This is not the first feature film about the subject of the 'Sonderkommandos' in the Auschwitz extermination camp: Tim Blake Nelson already wrote and directed The Greyzone (2001) based on his stage play, which premiered at MCC Theater in New York in 1996. Both Nelson's film and Son of Saul (2015) have in common that they are based in part on "Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account" by witness Miklos Nyiszli, a Hungarian-speaking Jewish doctor forced to work in Auschwitz. But co-writer/director László Nemes based his film on additional historical sources: "The Scrolls of Auschwitz" [aka "Voices From Beneath The Ashes"] (edited by Ber Mark, published 1985), a collection of accounts that were secretly written and hidden by the actual 'Sonderkommando', was the main inspiration and starting point. Other books with survivor testimonies were used and historical experts consulted. Nemes acknowledged that he has seen Nelson's film, but disapproves of certain aspects of it: "...mine is an Anti-"Grey Zone"! Imagine, in "The Grey Zone", the inmates spoke in English. Also Nelson's film shows too much, relying on constant emotional upheaval that is theatrical (...) We used a restrained strategy to tell very little. When you are not limited, cinema can take you to over-expression and spectacle." [2015]

The narrative is almost similar, but with a difference that makes The Grey Zone far more perfect. Saul searched for a Rabbi to give the last rites for a murdered child he symbolically "adopted", he gave himself up totally to this very personal task, thus neglecting his moral duties to his brothers in suffering; people in The Grey Zone were committed to save the living girl, who miraculously survived the gas chamber.

Listen to your enemy, for God is talking

I've seen both films, and both are excellent. But they are very different in style. Saul is more of a POV film. It puts you right in the middle of the story.





Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.

The Grey Zone is about life, where this is about death.

The Grey Zone is a broad view, where this is a very singular view

While both show the cruelty, the confusion in this makes it feel more real

The Grey Zone centers on the revolt, it is the center of the action and attention, while here it is not the main story, actually, the most important thing they may ever do is a distraction to the protagonist.

In my opinion there is little in common other than the historical event they are centered around

When I first saw GZ I felt like the Director was presenting the A/B existence in a different way ... it was very busy ... it was very industrial ... it was urgent ... it was roaring and noisy. No other film was like this before GZ. Now this film comes along and it feels very similar. Surely GZ had a big influence on this film.