The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
What a sad, heart-wrenching movie. I actually read the book before I saw the movie, and to see it on the screen was just too sad for words to even describe. I was crying and sobbing throughout the movie, especially the end. The little boys in this movie were outstanding :) I wanted to leave the theater because it was too much for me :(
Mommy? Why do the farmers wear pyjamas?
These few words describe the innocence of an eight-year old child during World War 2.
The boy in the striped pyjamas is about the 8 year-old Bruno, who moves the ‘the country-side’ with his family. What he doesn’t know, is that his father is promoted to be the commandant of Auschwitz. He asks his mother why the farmers, who work in the house, wear striped pyjamas? His sister knows why her father is here, and is very proud of him. But when Bruno’s mother finds out people are being burnt she freaks out. She wants her children out of this place. In the meantime, Bruno has become friends with Schmuel, a boy in Auschwitz.
They become best friends, and when Schmuel’s father is missing, Bruno comes up with a plan to help Schmuel find his father…
This movie really touched me. To see the movie through the eyes of a little boy like Bruno, was very different. It takes away all the heaviness that lies in a subject like this. He doesn’t know what his father is doing, who the ‘farmers’ are, or why Jews are bad people..
I think that is a very good thing about this movie. A point of critic is the fact that the end was very predictable. But it really is a movie, I think, everyone should see.
There were two scenes is the movie that really touched me. The first one is the scene where a ‘prisoner’ puts a banage on Bruno’s knee, because he has fallen of the swing. I think that, in this scene, Bruno has very different feelings. His father and his sister tell him that Jews are bad people who kill and torture, but then why is this man so kind to him?
Another special scene is of course, the end scene. In this scene Bruno’s father realizes what he has caused… I’m not going to reveal more about this scene, or else you will know how it ends!
I liked the role of Bruno the best, because he really is that naïve and innocent. And that innocence shines through the whole movie. It is really convincing and touching.
I would definitely recommend this movie to others, because it shows how a lot of children have experienced World War 2. and I think a lot of people don’t really see that.
I would give this movie 4 stars, because of my little critical point.
In the WWII Bruno lives in Berlin, his father is a Nazi-commander. Bruno’s live is very easy because he doesn’t know exactly what war means. The only thing he knows is Jewish people are bad and his father is a hero who fights against the Jews. When his father gets promotion they have to move to another house. The new house is very close to a concentration camp. One day Bruno escapes from the house and explores the forest around the house. When he gets near the concentration camp, he thinks it’s a farm and all those people are farmers. When Bruno meets a Jew named Shmuel he is very confused because Shmuel isn’t bad or mean but a nice boy of his age. When Shmuel’s father disappears, Bruno decides to help Shmuel and he enters the concentration camp.
My opinion: It's a nice movie, because you see the story through the eyes of a boy who's eight years old and who doesn’t see the danger and cruelty in the concentration camp. This movie also shows the unreasonable action against the Jewish people, like a Jewish doctor who has to peal potatoes.
I would recommend this movie to more mature people, because there wasn’t that much action at the end as I expected.
The actor who played Bruno was nominated for best new person to play in movies, but he didn’t win, which I think is a shame.
By student from lauwerscollege buitenpost (TB)
The boy in the striped pyjamas
Imagine that you don’t know the difference between right or wrong. A boy called Bruno is a son of a German Commander. They move to a new house near a concentration camp. Bruno has to get use to the idea that there are no kids in the neighbourhood. Bruno is an explorer and doesn’t listen to his father. Bruno goes to the camp and meets a Jewish boy called Shmuel. Bruno doesn’t know that the boy is trapped in the camp. And after the boy told him that he was a Jew, Bruno is a bit shocked. But after a while the boys get a close friendship. And one day Shmuel has to work in the house of Bruno. But when they get caught Bruno denies that he knows Shmuel. Bruno felt sorry for Shmuel. So he goes to the camp again but doesn’t find Shmuel. After a few days Shmuel is back at the place by the fence. They talk about what happened, and Bruno apologized. Bruno wants to do something in return, and offers to help finding the father of Shmuel, who is also in the camp. Bruno sneaks into the camp, and they try to find Shmuel his dad. I won’t tell the end of the story because it would ruin the surprise.
I can tell you it is a good movie. If you watch it, it will keep you interested. You will try to guess the ending. But it is very surprising. The story is based on a novel of John Boyne. An Irish writer, who got famous after he wrote this book. He had an image in his head about two boys separated by a fence. They both don’t understand the things that are happening around them. He wrote the story with a lot of emotion in it. He tried to give a little example about the holocaust. What I liked about the movie was that you see it through the eyes of a little German boy. He doesn’t understand why he can’t play with the boy at the other side of the fence. But the viewer of the movie can. So that’s very original. Something disappointed me though. It sometimes took to long before there was a new adventure, a new chapter. Still I was surprised by the ending of the movie. The acting in the movie is very impressing. The little boys perform very realistic. And I was truly impressed. If I were you I would watch the movie, because it is very original, interesting and above all very emotional. So watch the movie. And if I had to give this movie a rating, I would give it 3 stars.
By: Wytze Bijleveld, The Netherlands
�Why do you wear pajamas all day�, Bruno asks to Shmuel, a young Jewish boy who�s being held prisoner in a concentration camp. Of course Bruno is young too, he doesn�t understand the seriousness of the war that�s going on. To him, the concentration camp is a farm where people can play and have fun.
The boy in the striped pajamas is a film based on a novel, which carries the same name, by John Boyne. The film was directed by Mark Herman, who has directed a few other movies, but is best known for directing The boy in the striped pajamas. Producer David Heyman has produced a number of notable films, like Harry Potter and the Philosopher�s Stone. The leading role goes to Asa Butterfield, a child actor. He also played in various other movies, for example; Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. He received two nominations, one British Independent Film Award for Most promising newcomer and one London Critics Circle Film Awards for Young British performer of the Year, both where for his role in The boy in the striped pajamas.
Bruno is a young boy who lives with both his parents and his twelve-year-old sister Gretel (Amber Beattie). His dad is SS officer Ralf (David Thewlis) and married to Elsa (Vera Farmiga), Bruno�s mom. The whole family lives in Berlin, but move after his dad gets promoted to commandant of a concentration camp. Bruno calls it Out-With, but later in the movie we find out, thanks to Gretel, that the right pronouncement is Auschwitz.
When they reach their new home almost no one is happy with it. It�s a large house with a cold look, no kindness. Elsa tries to be optimistic, but it�s obvious she doesn�t like it. After staying there for a while, Bruno gets bored and wants to explore. When he goes to the back garden his mom tells him not to, but later he tries again, this time it works.
He runs trough the forest and eventual ends up and the fence, made off barbed wire, that surrounds the concentration camp. That�s when Bruno first meets Shmuel. The boys take up a special relationship, they become friends. Of course, during the war, it�s forbidden for a German boy to be friends with a Jew. But Bruno doesn�t understand.
He doesn�t understand a lot of things. He thinks the concentration camp Shmuel is staying in, is a farm where you can have fun. He thinks the clothing Shmuel is wearing are pajamas, while they�re truly prisoner outfits. He thinks it�s ok for the boys to hang out and play and he doesn�t see why Shmuel can�t take off and come on the other side of the fence. In the end his stupidity gets him to make the worst decision of his life.
Personally I think it�s a very strong movie. It shows some aspects of the war that I hadn�t seen before. And showing it from the point of few of a little boy makes it that more interesting. Though Bruno is stupid, there�s no other name for it, he has some cleverness about him too. For example, when he wants to pay Shmuel another visit he tells his mom a lie, but when she doesn�t buy it he says he told her a lie and immediately tells her one again, which she does buy.
The relationship Bruno and Shmuel build is sometimes a little strange. When Shmuel gets to work in the house Bruno lives in, he offers him a piece of cake. Shmuel gladly takes it, but then an officer enters the room. Bruno denies offering the piece of food and therefore Shmuel gets beaten up badly.
The end of the move shows a message. You can create, but so easily break too.
I wouldn�t have picked the movie myself. If it wasn�t for school, I wouldn�t have seen it. But I must say, it sure is a great movie!
was completely blown away!! The story line is AMAZING!!! loved the events, but ended up pouring my eyes out in the end. Fantastic movie!!! Should have watched this in fifth grade for my Holocaust lesson! But still, go watch it, you will love it!
I was so impacted by this movie. It was a sad holocaust story but without the gore. It makes you think and cry and is a very good storyline. I would recomend it but not for younger children. go see it and cry. :)
Hollywood Reviews
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (PG) * * * *
Buddy Boy!
By Robert Waldman
Films set in war time usually focus on soldiers or adult characters. Rare is it for a story on the military to concentrate on children. Director Mark Herman bucks the trend with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, an eye-opening story from Maple Pictures now stoking emotions and stroking hearts at Tinseltown (on Pender, free parking) and the Fifth Avenue Cinemas. British made and shot in Hungary this uplifting experience charts the course of a family deeply involved in the German war effort.
Looks mean everything but appearances can be deceiving. Life in Berlin seems to be going fine for one fine German family. Young Bruno seems to enjoy being a boy with a good network of friends in the neighbourhood while older sis Gretel seems content playing with her dolls and getting interested in boys. Things can change in a hurry, especially in the late 30s as Hitler’s war machine is moving into high gear.
Unbeknownst to some Bruno’s dad is a key cog in the German war effort. Alongside his beautiful wife the family gets sent to the country to oversee a major Third Reich effort. Now the dad is in charge of a secret mission and once secluded away from home you can sense the apprehension in the family.
Nerves of steel resonate well from the dad but other members of the household have a bit of difficulty adapting to their new surroundings. Bruno especially doesn’t like his new environment and being a boy, curiosity gets the best of him. Routine playtime turns into anything but as this impressionable youth “accidentally†meets up with a concentration camp inmate. All of a sudden this eight year old gets thrust into adulthood as the issues of hate and ethnic cleansing come to the fore while a domineering dad tires to make the best of the situation.
Fascinating and horrific at the same time, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a superior tale of warfare and the way secrets can tear people apart. Morality is a huge issue and here the filmmakers pull no punches as they show man’s inhumanity to man through the eyes of a child. Unforgettable are the scenes showing these two boys together as are the ways the parents react to learning what goes on behind those hidden walls.
Standout work from David Thewlis (Gangster No. 1) as the boy’s dad will leave audiences both shaken and stirred. Real emotion bursts out often in this movie with Vera Farmiga (Autumn in New York) pulling off an equally impressive performance as an elegant wife brought down to reality. And proving that his work in Son of Rambow was no fluke young Asa Butterfield will steal your heart as the eight year old Bruno, a young lad who grows up in a hurry.
Forget about special effects or heroics popularized in other war films. Subtle use of imagery and painful exchanges between family members, prisoners and the German war machine make The Boy in the Striped Pajamas a gut-wrenching tale of friendship and fatal missed opportunities and painful mistakes. Consider this movie to be one of the year’s best and a likely Oscar contender for acting honours by many.
Read more reviews by Alan at www.moviereviewssite.com
