Review: "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"

By Broadside Correspondent Joshua Hylton

We all know the horrors of the Holocaust. We’ve seen the tragedies that befell the entire world and we’ve seen the evil spread, but rarely do we get to see it through the eyes of a child. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas gives us this unique perspective and in the process creates a new meaning to those horrific events that occurred during.

Asa Butterfield plays Bruno, an eight-year-old boy ignorant to the horror surrounding him. His father, a high-ranking Nazi officer, receives a promotion and Bruno is forced to move away from his friends and start a new life elsewhere. When they get to their new house, Bruno spots what he believes to be a farm out in the distance. He is not permitted to go there, but does so anyhow. There he meets another young boy named Shmuel, played by Jack Scanlon. His world is trapped behind electrified barbed wire, which Bruno thinks is meant to keep the animals from escaping the farm. The two form an unlikely friendship, one a privileged son of a Nazi officer, and the other, an imprisoned Jewish boy.

I walked out of this film knowing that it was a definite must-see, but unsure of its status when compared to other films of this year. However, the more I think about it, the more I admire it. We’ve seen films about the Holocaust before, but The Boy in the Striped Pajamas portrays the events much differently. It focuses not on the widespread genocide, but rather on young Bruno and Shmuel and how they understand what is going on. While Shmuel has a better idea of the horrors of the Holocaust since he is inside the fence, Bruno knows almost nothing. In a way, Bruno’s ignorance mirrors the way we look at the film. Since it is so personal among the two boys, the devastation of the Holocaust is almost hidden. We see what Bruno sees and since he never witnesses the truly ugly side of it, neither do we. It isn’t until the very end that we are reminded of the waste of human lives that this event caused.

There’s never been a film about the Holocaust that wasn’t devastating in one way or another, but when children are involved, emotions run higher. It is heartbreaking to see young Shmuel trapped in the concentration camp fearful of every passing minute, the thoughts of what will happen to him running through his mind. It is saddening to see how Bruno’s thoughts are shaped by his father, teacher, and sister into not seeing the evil that is occurring right in front of him. But this is necessary and one of the film’s best components. The Holocaust is supposed to be depressing and the movie follows through with this idea until the last frame fades out. The sad, yet appropriate ending will weigh on your mind long after the credits roll. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a must-see and one of the best films of 2008.