We had free tickets to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas a few weeks ago. Having never heard of the movie or the book (which was written for
pre-teens) I quickly read the synopsis:
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.
http://www.boyinthestripedpajamas.com/#/homeIt sounded a little depressing and I thought I knew how it would end but it was free so we decided to give it a try.
Overall I'd say I liked it. The biggest complaint being that for some strange reason everyone has English accents instead of German. The other complaint was there was not enough time spent with the two boys at the fence.
One the positive side the story was very good. A little slow at times but still great. The score was well done. The two boys were cast perfectly. I love the shots of their faces and their expressions were amazing. You could truly see the innocence in their eyes. That these boys could not fathom what was actually going on in the camps also rings true and is the reason why stories like this one must endure. The Holocaust has always been interesting to me. I just can't get my mind around the fact that anyone could be capable of the cruelty that the Germans made on the Jews. The Hitler to could lead so many astray is terrifying. The father did and excellent job of portraying the love and kindness he had for him family while still being able to fulfill his assignment as commandant on a concentration camp. His performance was so layered that you can believe this man is capable of a monstrousness equal to his familial devotion. And yet the great conundrum of the Holocaust is that it was perpetrated by human beings, not monsters.
As for the ending I didn't see it coming but it was still horrifying yet fascinating all at the same time. It will definitely be stuck in my mind for a long time and make me think twice before I think I'm better than someone.
After the film they had a question & answer session with the director, author of the book, writer of the screenplay and the actor who played the father. Someone made the comment that is was one of the most brutal movies they had seen but noted the fact that there is not a single act of violence showed on the screen.
I stole this from a review of the film. I hope we can all keep the child's humanity.
"For far too long we have comforted ourselves with the idea that evil is done by "other people". Or that the evil that was done was done in a different time and a different place and so does not really touch our own. What is important about this story is that it shows two levels of humanity. There is the child, who see another child, and who's reaction is - let's be friends. Then there are the adults, who's natural minds have become warped with an evil ideology and who see the same child as something to be contained and destroyed. It is a lesson that we all need to learn, which is that ordinary people can become willing agents of evil by losing that original natural humanity we all had as children. The mother in the story is in a battle with her own natural humanity while her husband has put it aside to be "an adult". A good examination of what maturity really means."
