Viewpoint of the Holocaust through a young child eyes.

Rating: 6/10 (12 February 2010)

The boy in striped pyjamas explores the holocaust through the eyes of an 8 year old boy called Bruno. He lives with his Mother Elsa, his SS commandant Father and Sister Gretal in a wealthy estate, but when his Father is assigned to a prison camp they must reallocate from their luxurious lifestyle to a grim looking residence only a couple of miles from the concentration camp itself. As soon as this post is confirmed a leaving party is held for the Father, and we see that not everyone is a Nazi supporter as the Grandmother of Bruno openly criticises the Father.
As the film progresses Brunos naivety towards the Jewish people and what is happening to them lead him to discover the prison and meet a young Jew called Schmuel. Although they are separated by an electric fence and lifestyles which couldn't be further apart a friendship blossoms. Bruno is envious of Schmuel, separated from his friends back home he sees the prison camp as some sort of playground and longs to join him inside.
Back in the new residence divides start to form in the household. The homeschooling bores Bruno, he does not understand the Nazi propaganda and instead prefers to read fictional books, his sister however, buys into it and is soon redecorating her room with Swastikas and other Nazi paraphernalia. When an off the cuff comment from one of the Fathers soldiers reveals to Elsa that the Jewish people are being burned in the concentration camp she is dismayed at what her husband is doing which leads to an angry and tearful confrontation.
It's strange to think that in Nazi Germany some people could be ignorant as to what is going on, coupled with the chastising remarks from the Grandmother the film loosely explores the divide that existed at the time. The choice to have British accents as opposed to German is an interesting one, German accents can be sharp and harsh, but the British voices hit home that the people involved in Nazi Germany were just as human as anyone else, which makes the atrocities committed all the more horrifying. The burning of Jews is reduced to performances charts, efficiency diagrams and promotions, whilst others cannot comprehend that their families could do such things.
The performances from the two children stand out from the rest. Asa Butterfield as Bruno remains convincingly wide eyed and curious throughout the film, Jack Scanlon as Schmuel presents a depressed figure, a child who does and doesn't understand what is happening to him, and a friendship realistically develops through the kind of connection that is born from the innocence of youth.
The end scene of the film is predictable but it doesn't detract from the horror of it. However I did feel slightly perturbed, although to have such a dark ending is commendable I did get the feeling that the concentration camp wasn't sad enough so it needed a German child to die in it to just to hit home how terrible it was. The slightly contrived nature of it did ruin the emotional effect it should have had on me.
Despite my grievances with the ending, it's a solid film that does the subject matter justice. The lingering afterthought of what the Jewish people went through whilst people in Nazi Germany either treated it as work or resented the ones that were doing it is food for thought. 7/10