A powerful, distressing but important piece of cinema

Rating: 8/10 (28 September 2008)

The dreadful and horrendous events of the Holocaust have been tackled by many films, the best of which have been Spielberg's "Schindler's List" and Polanski's "The Pianist", both of which were appropriately bleak but offered at least some message of hope. With "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas", director Mark Herman has adapted John Boyne's highly acclaimed novel which sees a small part of this greatest of crimes through the eyes of an innocent and oblivious child.
Bruno, the central character, is an eight year old who moves with his family to their new home in the country. His father, unknown to him, is no ordinary soldier but an SS commandant, in charge of the camp which borders his new home. All around him, events occur which he thinks nothing of. He merely wonders about the strange "farm" next door, and why all of the farmers wear pyjamas all day, every day. Fond of adventure and bored in his lonely home, he sneaks into the back garden and comes to the edge of the camp where he befriends a young boy, Shmuel, who lives inside it.
The handling of the Holocaust is very well done here, with the dramatic irony brought on by the audience's foreknowledge providing many questions about the people who carried out this crime. The central relationship between the two boys is incredibly touching. Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon deliver two fantastic child performances, adept beyond their years. They provide the emotional and tragic heart of the film.
Around this is the family situation, with the increasingly strained relationship between the boy's parents. The father, who is this almost unbelievable mixture of loving family man and orchestrator of mass murder, is brilliantly played by David Thewlis, whilst Vera Farmiga is excellent as the mother.
However, this film is all about its ending. I'm not going to give anything away here, but I cannot remember an ending this bleak and distressing for a very long time, if at all. There will be very few dry eyes in the house as the full horror of this chapter in history is driven home. This film should be watched by younger viewers, but there shouldn't be anyone younger than eleven coming to see this and David Thewlis has said that parents should go with children of this age and only take those who will be able to have a conversation about it afterwards.
What this film has to offer for older viewers is an impressive, well-made, moving and powerful piece of drama, though it will be a tough watch. What younger viewers will also take from it is the terrible reality of this event. This may not stand up with the aforementioned great films about the Holocaust, but the fact that it is aimed at a young audience is important. After all, "He who does not learn about history is doomed to repeat it".
4 stars out of 5