The Boy in Striped Pajamas, directed by Mark Herman was adapted to the big screen from the acclaimed novel by John Boyne. This film was a nice little surprise in the month of November, where the big Oscar films start to show up. It’s set during World War II which we have seen many times on the screen, but in it’s own way it felt pretty unique with an interesting story and two surprising performances by child actors.
The story is seen through the eyes of eight-year-old Bruno, played by Asa Butterfield. This kid should definitely have a promising career ahead of him. He plays the innocent son a Nazi commander, played by David Thewlis. Their family has just moved to Berlin and Bruno secretly explores his backyard to find a concentration camp (which he thinks is a farm with people dressed in pajamas). He creates a forbidden friendship with an eight-year-old Jewish boy named Shmuel, played by Jack Scanlon. This was another great performance by a child actor. The scenes with Bruno and Shmuel made for the most enjoyable of the film, they really developed a great friendship through the barbed wires of the concentration camp. Then there was Bruno’s mother, played by Vera Farmiga. She had a small but very important role as the caring mother, who had no idea what her husband was up to. When she found out that the smoke from the backyard was really Jews burning, she had a break down which continued throughout the film. It was a good performance, but nothing that can be considered during awards season.
If I could compare this film to anything I’ve ever seen it would have to be Life is Beautiful, which was very similar in concept because of the innocence of the young boy during the Holocaust. This film is much smaller in comparison though. What I liked also about it is that both films were PG-13 and this one didn’t really show much of the imagery that World War II films usually show, except for the smoke in the air. It’s just as Life is Beautiful is in that it’s a family film with a lot of heart, but sad because it’s set at such a terrible time.
The Boy in Striped Pajamas was an overall nice little film, and one I recommend to most people. The ending of this film was a surprising little twist and something I wasn’t expecting. It’s a good ending for the film and is guaranteed to stick with people long after the film is over. The suspense and score of the final 10 minutes were phenomenal. Legendary composer James Horner who definitely sets the scene with his powerful music composed the dramatic score. I found myself covering my mouth for final 10 minutes until the very slow fade into the end credits, coming very close to having this film MADE, but not quite.
IMDB: 7.8/10
Rottentomatoes: 64%
Moviewiseguys: 7.5/10