A young person's introduction to the Holocaust and tragedy

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2008)

With the number of films based on/around/about the Holocaust/World War II, it's hard to find something original. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," a historical fiction film gives the perspective of an 8-year-old German boy whose father is in charge of running a death camp, unaware of what's going on at all. To put it simplistically, it is a loss of innocence tale, though it is really quite more than just that. As the boy learns more of what's going on, so do we through the images of the film and actions of the aware characters. That's what makes the film a really good way to break an older child (though no less than 10 years old) into learning about the Holocaust. In this regard and in its very mature storytelling, "Pajamas" is a very good film.
The boy's name is Bruno, played by Asa Butterfield, a talented young actor very much in the mold of Freddie Highmore, the young English child star. When Bruno's father (Thewlis of "Harry Potter") and mother (Fermiga of "The Departed") move them to the country, Bruno's curiosity leads him to discover a death camp is only a mile or so away. Little by little, Bruno learns exactly why his parents have been telling him to stay away, though it doesn't stop him from meeting a young Jewish boy named Shmuel on the other side of the fence. This perspective from a non-Jew is unique to Holocaust films for sure.
Adapted and directed by little known British director Mark Herman, "Pajamas" unravels as a family film about a serious subject matter but ultimately turns into a tragedy of unnerving proportions. The dialog is light (in quantity only) but Herman really tells it quite well, getting us in Bruno's perspective while occasionally letting us into the adult world where things are more explicit about the horrors of the Holocaust. It's "Schindler's List" without the violence but all the emotional pull.
The film's only fault is in its validity. Most Holocaust stories are based on truth at least. "Pajamas" is entirely fictional and in fact the plot is quite preposterous. That doesn't, however, make it less gripping, because it really sells itself under Herman's direction.
It must be warned that this is a very hard, tragic film. That's all that can be said without spoilers, but it must be said. This combination of Holocaust through a child's eyes and tragedy could potentially really open up the eyes of some young people. This film has the potential to be a very powerful experience for a young person and will certainly open up dialog in families about the Holocaust.