Simple but effective

Rating: 9/10 (12 August 2017)

When watching this film I think it's best remembered that this story was written for children to help them understand the holocaust (if such a thing were possible). The plot is simple and the historical accuracy has been maligned, however I don't think this makes it an insult to survivors and victims as others have suggested. The acting is sensitively done and I thought the 'ordinariness' of it all (as very little of the camp is shown until the end) actually brought home the reality of it. Same goes for the English accents. For English speaking audiences I thought this really made the characters seem even more like a family who could be living next door. It's too easy to call the perpetrators of the holocaust evil. They were ordinary men with families which makes it all the more chilling and thought provoking. Up until the ending I thought this was an 'easy' film which surprised me given the subject, but it builds to the last scenes which did exactly what every good account on the holocaust should do - made you think 'Never again'.