The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
The Holocaust has been one of the most “productive” topics in Hollywood all these years. We’ve got some amazing movies about it: Sophie’s Choice, La Vita E Bella, The Pianist, Schindler’s List, each providing an outlook on the horrors in the Nazi camps. Some very sad, others covering this with a “coat” of funny scenes (La Vitta E Bella), they all show the tragedies that hit many Jewish families back in the World War II.
All of them depict the experiences Jews have, this is a different approach already, since out main character, 8 year old Bruno (played amazingly well by Asa Butterfield) is on the other side of the “barricade”. His father (David Thewlis) is a German officer, sent from their luxurious house in Berlin to some forgotten place, near an extermination camp.
His family finds out in few days about this shocking place, this leaving his wife (Vera Farmiga) almost oblivious of anything else. All she is trying now to do is protect her little explorer’s innocence, by hiding the true purpose of the “farm” next to their house.
Bruno is doing his exploring one day, when he gets near the electric fence that separates him from the “farmers”, as he calls them. Here he meets Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy who’s the same age as he is.
While his tutor, father and sister keep on telling him how bad the Jews are, Bruno is amazed to find out Shmuel is a nice kid, even if he’s got that weird name and is always hungry.
Bruno keeps his “exploring” secret, while his family is still keeping the entire horror under wraps. If Guido was able to save his kid with turning it all into a game, Bruno’s family, by keeping it all secret, didn’t allow the kid to realize the dangers from the camp, thus endangering his life.
John Boyne’s novel turns into a amazingly well done movie, I really recommend.
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