Review - The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2016)

World War II is known as the deadliest war in history, due to the number of civilian and military deaths through 1939-1945. Some of the world's most widely known historical events happened during this time, and it was not for good reason. Director Mark Herman takes these events and creates a historical fiction film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This movie is more than a typical historical fiction film because of its music, acting, and historical accuracy; it's a story of friendship, emotion, and heartbreak, all through the eyes of young Bruno.
Set in Nazi Germany during WWII, a Nazi commander and his family, that include his wife, daughter, and son, Bruno, relocate from Berlin to the countryside near one of Germany's concentration camps. Bruno wants nothing more than somebody to play with, and decides to venture out in the woods, where he stumbles upon the concentration camp. He meets a young Jewish boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the fence, which then triggers an unlikely friendship.
The film's score, composed by James Horner, is certainly a stellar one; it captures the times of suspense and sorrow. Being a former band geek, it's easy to recognize the use of crescendos and decrescendos during the heartbreaking scenes that make emotions magnify. But even better than that, the music comes to an abrupt halt at the end of the movie. That eerie dead silence was almost deafening, and again, adds to the viewer's emotions.
Asa Butterfield stars as Bruno and David Thewlis is his father, Ralph. These two actors did a fabulous job of portraying how a young boy and his father could have thought and behaved during WWII. Butterfield plays the innocence of Bruno to a T; the confusion on his face when he sees the "farm" for the first time and the tone of his voice when he talks about the concentration camps. Due to Nazi propaganda, Bruno believes that the camps are a place filled with games, food, and camaraderie. Butterfield does a superb job when he talks about this because he says it so matter-of fact, that one would almost believe it. Chemistry also exists between Butterfield and Jack Scanlon, who portrays Shmuel, and considering that they talk with a barbed wire fence between them for most of the film, that's pretty impressive.
In addition to Butterfield, Thewlis does a fantastic job as Ralph due to the fact of how emotionless he is. For example, every time his wife gets upset with him, his facial expressions insinuate that he really doesn't care; it works perfectly for the role. The one time that he does show some emotion is when he screams at the Nazi servant working in his house. The room is dead silent, until Thewlis screams at the top of his lungs. This sounds irrelevant, but when it's one of the only times you see some emotion out of the guy, it stands out.
Historical fiction movies can sometimes do a poor job of depicting historical events, but The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is not one of those movies. One of the most bone-chilling, emotional moments is when the Nazis salute and, "Heil Hitler!" It really puts the time period into perspective. In addition, the beginning of the movie shows the Jewish being coerced out of their homes by the Nazis. The movie made it clear to show how the Nazis oppressed the Jewish.
Due to the acting, music, and historical references, this film shows deep emotion that will make the viewer laugh, cry, and cringe all within the 94 minutes of the film. If a viewer hasn't seen this film, they should log into their Netflix account and do so. It will be a film they won't easily forget.