"We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that"?

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2010)

This was truly one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. I can't imagine the friendship story having any semblance of historical fact to it, but it makes one think about the randomness of existence and how tenuous it can be to be on the 'wrong' side. The character of Bruno (Asa Butterfield) is the epitome of childlike innocence, and his view of the world is one of total acceptance to a young mind incapable of inhumanity and horror. The film skillfully contrasts his character with that of sister Gretel (Amber Beattie), somewhat older and already under the influence of Hitler Youth propaganda. The conflicted portrayal of the mother Elsa (Vera Farmiqa) is also set against the subdued brutality of the Commandant father (David Thewliss).
With a title like "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", I really didn't know what to expect, and even well into the picture I didn't have any idea how the story would be brought to a conclusion. When it finally became apparent how this was going to end, it was all I could do to steel myself for the unthinkable and the unconscionable.
It's a constant source of confusion to my mind how this world can contain such disparate elements leading to heroic examples of humanity contrasted against unspeakable acts of horror and depravity. By any measure of good fortune, maybe a movie like this can convince even a single person with hate and prejudice in their heart that it's a random whim of the universe that any single person is born the way they are.