Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Rating: Null/10 (20 October 2011)

Very belatedly I watched this last night having read the book a couple of years ago. It's not a perfect film, and I agree with others that the concentration camp doesn't look quite real. But I was completely hooked. The acting is really very good, particularly David Thewlis as father/camp commandant. Amon Goth in Schindler's List was a monster out and out. The really chilling thing about Thewlis is his portrayal of a man who loves his wife and children, loves his father and mother, has good friends, enjoys a good party, loves being a soldier, loves his country, is hugely proud of being promoted at work. But, oh dear, the work ... The most frightening thing about the Nazis is that they were ordinary people who did monstrous things while still retaining a humanity towards the people they cared about and absolutely none to those "on the outside". The film portrays this very well - is it just me who wonders "what if it had been us?".
Asa Butterfield as Bruno conveys perfectly an 8 year old's innocent belief in his ideal father, a belief which merges into doubt, then to distrust, then touching but misconceived renewal of belief. We only have to hope that he doesn't have time to finally realise the truth before the end. It didn't make me cry (and seriously, I even get teary through some adverts), but I can't help thinking about it today so it obviously made an impression. It may not be as gritty as it could (should?) have been, but if the image of the gas-masked soldier through the skylight doesn't make you shiver, I don't know what will. Absolutely recommended.