Touching and Powerful, but Lacking

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2013)

If you want the definition of ironic, it would be the plot to The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. Everybody knows the story of Hitler and 1940's Germany. A military man moves his family out into the country so he can work at a concentration camp. His eight year old boy wanders off and finds the camp and befriends a Jewish kid from the other side of the fence. A combination of the child's naivety, strong story, and somber music makes this movie very powerful and brings a new insight to WW2.
The main force behind this movie and what really keeps it going is Bruno. He is the eight year old boy and the main character. He is forced to move away from his friends in Berlin and is looking for a new friend. He meets a Jewish boy in the concentration camp and he has no idea what is going on. He is young and knows little of the war and the terrible things his father and countryman are doing. There are moments in the movie where he asks stupid questions and it makes the audience just go, "oh, no. I know the answer, how can you be so blind?" Then I remembered he was eight years old and has no business knowing what is going on. His older sister is twelve and she gets it. She talks about joining the Hitler youth and she becomes war driven. She is being brainwashed and corrupted by the adults around her. Her whole existence is the show the vile works of the Germans in that time. It's odd how each character in the family is completely different, obviously it is on purpose.
We have Bruno, the main character who is completely blind and innocent. It is his blindness and innocents which makes the movie. Then we have the father, Ralph, who is also Professor Lupin in Harry Potter, just a side note. He is the definition of evil. He works at the camps. My favorite scene is when they are all at dinner and he basically interrogates one of his officers and finds out his father was Jewish. On the spot he has the man taken into the other room, beaten, and killed. It is a powerful scene and shows the reality of the situation. One could argue that it's not his fault because he is just following orders and Germany was corrupt by one insane tyrant, but that's not the point. This movie isn't about the war or Hitler or even the Jews. It is about the relationship between the two young children battling the odds Then there is my favorite character in the entire movie, and that is the mother. She is special so she gets her own paragraph.
Elsa is the mother of this family and she is protective of her children. She knows the danger bit is also blinded by her surroundings. She knows what her country is doing with the Jewish people but she has no idea that they are dying. She finds out that they are being gassed and burned and she flips out. This says a lot about her character and how she did not approve of her countries actions. This is a bold move by the director because he disproves the stereotype that everybody in Germany hated the Jews and approved of Hitler. She is a strong character an gives the movie a different edge.
The movie is a little slow at first and it takes a while for the backbone of the plot to kick in. This movie is 94 minutes and it takes a while before the two boys even meet and build their friendship. Another problem is the little screen time the little Jewish boy is in the movie. The title of the movie is about him and he isn't really seen as much. When he is on screen he tries to tell the truth to young Bruno. He is eight years old and he knows and understands everything that has happened to him. There is one point in the movie where Bruno messes up and it almost costs him his life. I like Bruno as a character but he was a coward and he made foolish mistakes. As the movie progressed I began to realize there were only two outcomes to this story and both are very sad.
Pacing problems, limited time with a main character and my major problem is the lack of character development. Every character with the exception of the mother is the exact same from the opening credits to the end credits. The father is a jerk. The boy is foolish and his sister is corrupted. This made the movie a little boring and even though it was a short film it felt really long. I wanted to see more but I can't think what else could have been seen. The strengths definitely outweigh the weaknesses but the weaknesses are still substantial.
Overall, I did enjoy The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. The music added an emotional touch throughout and one thing you need to understand is that the main character is a kid and you need to think like a kid to understand what he does. By no means is this a happy movie, but more tragic with a few glimpses that would make any parent proud. Watch this movie but be warned, it is not for the faint of heart. The acting isn't anything remarkable, the characters are strong but have little development, but overall enjoyable. This movie gets the WillyT Honorable Mention.