(2008: A British-Irish historical/drama Miramax film)
Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008: A British-Irish historical/drama Miramax film)
This is a film about the Holocaust. It is an on-demand movie from Brighthouse, directed by Mark Herman and based on a novel by the same name. The book’s author (John Boyne) explores the horror of a World War II Nazi extermination camp through the eyes of two 8-year-old boys; one the son of the camp's commandant, the other a Jewish inmate, the son of another inmate. The film makers find a way to reveal this tale of horror without resorting to scenes that simply shock the sensibilities. Instead they show a beautiful friendship between two 8-year old boys both completely innocent of any wrong doing that is going on around them. Evil is implicit by the contrasting beauty of their relationship. The final scene is so powerful it left me in stunned silence.
The main character is young Bruno, the son of the camp commandant. He is an inquisitive little guy with a set of baby blue eyes that could melt butter. He hopes to become an explorer. He also enjoys the company of others his age. When his father is promoted and transferred to Poland, Bruno, his mother, and his older sister must leave their friends behind in Berlin much to Bruno’s disappointment. They arrive at a large new home that is cold, fenced in, yet it is complete with a maid, servants, a tutor, and an SS lieutenant aid to the father. An old inmate barely able to walk has also been assigned to aid in the house chores.
Their new home is located perhaps a half mile from the camp that houses the inmates. The family members are told nothing of its occupants or its purpose. From a distance Bruno observes men that he believes are farmers, but who are wearing striped pajamas. He inquires about his observations which are summarily dismissed by his father who then boards up the boy’s bedroom window so he cannot see the camp in the distance.
The old man is very careful not to appear friendly with any of the family members, although it is clear he is a man of honor and trust. He confirms as much to young Bruno by building him a swing from an old tire that he attaches to a tree in the back yard. While swinging on it, Bruno tries to stand up but he slips and falls injuring his leg. The old man carefully bandages the boy’s leg just as his mother arrives home. She is alarmed and a bit furious at the old man until she inspects the bandage and she sees that it is wrapped with care and skill. Acknowledging both her appreciation and his humanity, she thanks him, thus confirming Bruno’s own affection for the old man.
Bruno’s curiosity takes him through the woods to a barbed wire fence surrounding the compound. He finds a young boy his own age just on the other side of the fence. They instantly take a liking to each other. The young inmate does not understand much about his imprisonment, but he knows he is hungry. Bruno makes daily trips to the fence where he brings his new friend, Shmuel, food and they kid around while playing checkers.
One day Shmuel is in a state of anxiety. His father is missing, and he cannot locate him. So the two boys conspire to find him unaware that he has probably been led to the gas chamber.
Shmuel manages to find a pair of striped “pajamas” for Bruno to wear, and Bruno brings a shovel that he uses to dig a hole under the fence and climbs under it and into the compound’s enclosure. The two boys then set out to find Shmuel’s father.
In the ensuing scenes Bruno’s mom discovers that he is missing, she interrupts a high level meeting that her husband is conducting to tell him. Two parallel scenes take place, one in which Bruno’s mother and father run frantically through the camp looking for Bruno, and a second in which Bruno and Shmuel are hunting just as intensely for Shmuel’s father. The two scenes collide in the finale that will rip your heart out. Evil and innocence meet head-on, and the viewer is left with an image of two young hands clasping each other in the triumph of love over despair.
The story is gripping. The acting is superb. My only criticism is that the film lasted but 1 hour and 30 minutes. With another 30 minutes it could have developed the story and the characters a little more completely. Otherwise, it is a brilliant achievement that should be on everyone's viewing list.
Fine review - I will look for it - Some of the most gripping true stories have come out of that horror - I wish someone would make a movie of "For Those I Loved" but maybe it wouldn't live up to the reality.
A fine review. Thank you for filling out the story. It makes it easier to understand what the movie is about. Unfortunately, it is fiction. I think true stories, and there are many, are better, like The Diary of Anne Frank and the movie, The Kite. But then, there is the consummate fictional American story, Huckleberry Finn. Alex Haley told me he was writing another book called Henning about his childhood in that Tennessee town where his best friend was a white boy, but I've found no mention of the book other than another unfinished novel, Queen, about his ancestry that was finished after his death.
Tralee, Ireland. September 1948.
An arrogant, and highly agitated, priest arrives home after 40 years.
Days later he's dead. Suicide? Or did his past catch up with him?
Ireland 1947. Seven weeks of relentless snow. Guard Eamon Foley is searching for a missing child.
At Toby Appleyard’s farm, he discovers the kitchen littered with dead cats. And the skeletal remains of a woman. Upstairs, Toby is dead in his bed.
Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008: A British-Irish historical/drama Miramax film)
