heart wrenching

Rating: 9/10 (18 September 2015)

I ask this question to myself, "What's the point of a war?" I got the answer from Professor Moriarty in the Game of Shadows that he wants to own the bullets & bandages. Perhaps it's always the business interest of individuals (& now nations) that orchestrate a war. Now who's got the most to lose in a war? It seems like it's always the Women and Children. So when we view that war from their eyes, we can feel the blunt of the problems the war has led to. Childish this statement be, If only the world leaders had seen issues through the eyes of kids, plenty of bloodshed in the twentieth century could have been avoided.
What's the relevance of the above paragraph with the movie, "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"?
We get to see the Holocaust in the eyes of a kid! Actually a German Kid, who happens to be the son of the Commander of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Does it matter to the German kid, whether the kid he befriends is a Jew? Does it matter if that Jewish kid is on the other side of the fence? Is it a big deal if he wants to cross the fence that separates them? As grown-ups we know the seriousness of the last question. But obviously the kid doesn't know that!
The movie is made up of moments that shows us how the world around the Kid is trying to create a perception of the Jews. The tutor, the Nazi guard, kid's father & Grandfather represent the Nazi propaganda. The Kid's Grandmother (although she appears once) represents the anti- Nazi view. I couldn't understand the stand of the Kid's mother. Probably someone who's not anti-Nazi but at the same time wants to be away from the mess. The Kid's sister is the perfect teenager who has fallen for the Nazi propaganda.
In such scenarios, I wonder is it wrong to steal food so that you can help a hungry kid? No. Our established morals have to go for a toss but does it matter? No. The biggest success of this movie is that any viewer who has seen quite a few Holocaust movies, would understand what's happening on screen. They need not show anything explicitly. That adds to the poignancy although not to a level of Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful.
Keeping aside all that I've said above, the movie is a must watch for the heart wrenching final few minutes. It can move even the iron hearted to tears.
Do watch it when you get time! I've tried my level best to avoid any spoilers.
Additional titbits about the movie
1. The movie was a novel adaptation of Irish writer John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.