An amazing and powerful film

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2009)

This was truly a remarkable film. Asa Butterfield (as Bruno), and Jack Scanlon, (as Shmuel), were heart-breaking to watch. They both had such expressive faces, as they each struggled with the reality that each found himself in.
This film was told from a different point of view than any other Holocaust film I've seen: a child's. Bruno's everyday life was both an ordinary existence (on the surface), and a shocking one as well. As a child who could imagine living in close proximity to such horror, or, as in Shmuel's case, spending one's life behind that fence?
Vera Farmiga's performance was wonderful, and heart-wrenching as well.
Reminiscent of 'Schindler's List,' the cinematography was beautiful in this film. The beautiful shots of nature around Bruno's home belied the evil that was so very close.
It's ironic that Bruno's father only becomes horrified about what happens in the concentration camp when it effects his son.
I cried when I realized what Bruno's fate would be, but more because in showing it to us, we saw a glimpse of what millions of innocent people experienced.