Evil versus Innocence

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2008)

When the camera finally fades, one is left with a sense of loss that is impossible to overcome, there should be shock, anger, or some other intense emotion to counteract the final minutes of the film, but unlike films involving children and death or evil, "The Orphanage" comes to mind, this one lacks complexity because of the perspective taken by its director. It is a serious film that asks to weigh the beauty of innocence and unawareness of the horrors that become become so embedded in our nature when we're adults. It recalls the fact that many children will call any type of meat chicken because they're unable to understand what categories are. Bruno is beginning to develop his understanding of good and evil. He understands less than he feels, and he can pick that something is wrong; yet not enough to help him do enough for himself and his new found friend.
There is fine work in "The Boy", particularly the mother whose existence is shattered when she realizes how horrible her connections to Nazi Germany truly are. Her is husband is too self involved in his crusade to realize the harm he is causing his family, and at the heart of the story, Bruno's life is still basically, a game.
There some illogical developments in the movie, as we have very little tension in some of the scenes involving the children's meetings at the camp's fence. The chemistry between the two boys is perfect, as both of them are representatives of a world that does not have any room for them, and the metaphor might become a bitter reality if the adults fail to recognize the scope of their mistakes.
Maybe the film would have been more successful had it been treated as a fantasy, a dream, or a comedy in order to infuse with the contrast that it lacks here. as it is now, it's very simplistic and a bit underdeveloped, yet there is no denying its intended impact.