The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) User Reviews

All things truly wicked start from an innocence-Ernest Hemingway

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 9/10 · 29 November 2008]

I was so excited my theater got The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, from the moment I saw this trailer, I knew I was in for a treat. This movie just looked incredible, even though it's a touchy subject with the holocaust, it still looked like it was going to be a great story. Everyone always makes a comment about the innocence of childhood, what it was like to just not have reason, to just go with the flow of things before adults tell you what you have to do. So I watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas today and this movie seriously is one of the saddest films I have ever seen, but I felt it was very maturely handled. The actors are great and the story is very touching, to watch these two boys from two completely different worlds who come together just to have fun, be boys, not because of the difference of their background.

Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence. The boys have a great friendship talking every day, enjoying the company. But when the father gives Bruno a Nazi propaganda loving tutor, Bruno becomes confused, is his father an evil man or is his friend the evil one? Love his country and do his duty or don't judge and just stay true to his friend? Bruno must decide all this with some scary consequences ahead of him.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a fantastic film, though if you see it, I do recommend bringing the tissues. I couldn't believe the chemistry they had with these two young actors, they worked so well together as these innocent boys who both have no idea what's going on. Bruno doesn't know why his friend is behind fences, and his friend doesn't know why he's there either. The ending is extremely powerful and the story keeps you interested. I do recommend seeing The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, it's a treasure from 2008.

9/10

Perfectly weighted film...

[tomashaffenden-1 · 9/10 · 13 September 2008]

I'm a man's man, and it takes something really exceptional to break my emotionless machine persona. This film ripped me apart and reminded me (and my partner) of humanity inside even the most hardened man.

Perfectly weighted film in every way, from pace to acting and all framed with a wonderful score. The subtlety of the looks passing between the actors and a finale that ensured silence until the final credit rolled, makes this one of the best films i've seen in a long time.

This is the first review I have never written and i cannot think of a better way to have opened my account.

A very good film

[Nimrod-14 · 9/10 · 15 September 2008]

When my son (nearly 12 years old) read the book he was awake until 5am that night thinking about the story and what it all meant; he had some penetrating questions too. A day or so later he said that he thought that it would make a good film, and imagine his delight when he saw that there was a film of the book.

I have taken him to see the film; and was riveted. I think that the style of the film is really that of an old fashioned family film, however the subject matter is emotionally very demanding and all the better for that. It does what good drama should do - makes you think and feel. As the credits ran, at the showing that I saw, no one moved or spoke for a minute or two. The Holocaust is a difficult subject, but to tell a story in such a way that it is accessible to a 12 year is a great achievement.

There have been some comments that the cast speak English (rather than, presumably, German) and that this is somehow a bad thing. What are the alternatives? Either sub-titles or daft 'ello 'ello accents. In some ways the ordinariness of the Nazis and the family points up the horror of what happened – that ordinary people can do the worst of things to fellow human beings.

Stunning

[clare_phoebe · 10/10 · 19 September 2008]

I read the book "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" after coming across it in the library almost a year ago, and it amazed me. The unique approach taken by Mr Boyne put the subject matter across in a fresh and, if it is possible, even more heart-wrenching fashion. When I heard they were making the book into a film, I was very anxious, as I thought that they couldn't possibly convey the book onto the screen appropriately.

I am delighted to say that I was entirely wrong. I have just this minute returned home from seeing the film and I am absolutely stunned. The film is practically identical to the book, which was wonderful to see, and I thought that the acting was superb. Vera Farmiga and Asa Butterfield were, I thought, exceptional. The film was handled fantastically and I believe that the feel of the novel was not lost in the translation to screen.

Seeing the film was a lot more intense than reading the book and, even knowing what was coming, I found myself sobbing at the end, as were my father and step-mother, the latter of whom had never read the book, and was utterly shocked. This is the first film I have ever seen in which the whole audience were silent from beginning to end, and then, when the film ended, not a single person moved for a long time afterwards.

The film is an incredibly powerful, moving story, told superbly well by a stellar cast and crew. I would recommend it immensely to everyone.

Bruno And Shmuel

[bkoganbing · 10/10 · 5 January 2009]

I can't speak for other people, but for me The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is a film that can be seen once and once only because the impact is so shattering. Not even a stone statue can be not moved by this film, this child's eye view of the Holocaust.

Bruno is an 8 year old German kid whose father David Thewlis is an officer in the Wehrmacht. They're living a nice life in the beginning of World War II in metropolitan Berlin. Thewlis gets orders however shipping him to a command in a nice rural area of southern Germany, presumably Bavaria. Like any other kid he's upset at being dislocated from his friends and his school, but he certainly hasn't much to say in the matter.

So the family is uprooted to a lovely pastoral area where Dad's been put in charge of a concentration camp. Not one of the bigger ones like Auschwitz and Dachau, but a small one that his superiors expect Thewlis to run efficiently.

Young Bruno has absolutely no one to play with and he wanders over to the camp. His parents feel he's way too young to understand about these things and he makes friends with a kid on the other side of the barbed wire, a young Jewish boy named Shmuel who wears those funny striped pyjamas like everyone else in the camp.

Two things struck me about The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. When I did a review of The Diary Of Anne Frank, the biggest impression I got out of the film was the ordinariness of that small group of Jews hidden in that attic. Who could possibly think these people were any kind of threat to civilization simply for being and believing in their faith? We get to see the other side of the looking glass here, a view of this very average German family, besides young Bruno and Thewlis, there's mother Vera Famiga and daughter Amber Beattie. Famiga is not happy one bit with her domestic situation and it's slowly dawning on her that the politics and policies of the Third Reich is the root of her concerns. As for Beattie, she's really buying into the whole Nazi thing, partly because she's going through puberty and a young and handsome aide to her father played by Rupert Friend is stirring up those first womanly feelings.

But to all intents and purposes this is your average German family, not too much different than the Frank family in that attic, but that this regime of hate has made Thewlis a death merchant.

The second thing that struck me and it's what gives hope to this crazy world is what passes between Asa Butterfield as Bruno and Jack Scanlon as Shmuel. If all we are as humans are reflections of our parents prejudices there would be absolutely no hope for mankind. But we do grow, we do question, some of us just don't accept everything that's fed to us. We don't see Shmuel's world of the camp until the very end, the boys mostly have contact with a barbed wire fence between them. But we see Bruno and his sister being now home schooled in Nazi teachings and his innocent contact with that kid on the other side of the fence makes him question what's going on.

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is one of the best films of 2008. You will not forget the performances of Butterfield and Scanlon and the adult cast members. The end will shatter your mind, but the film's depiction of friendship growing in the worst possible circumstances is also a message of hope.

One of the most affecting pieces of Cinema released in years

[tpurcell-1 · 9/10 · 22 September 2008]

There are more dramatic and more philosophical pieces of cinema dealing with this very emotive subject, but few deal with the horror, futility and falsehood of the "final solution" with such clear simplicity. We see the lead characters as both humans and monsters we see internal conflict and how they each come to terms with their conflicts, above all we see how futile their conclusions were.

There will be the predictable comparisons with Schindler's List but you might also want to compare this movie to "The Counterfeiters" which also deals with the conflicts necessary to survive. Watching this movie I kept being drawn back to Primo Levi's book "If This is Man" the story of his time as a prisoner suffering from this evil.

The great success of the film is its simplicity, it does not seek to over analyse but simply allows the development of the characters to tell the story.

One of the contributers spoke of how he was in screen 9 (if I remember correctly) in Cineworld Dublin - I was in Screen 11 and I can had the same experience, the film ended and no one moved, all were in a state of shock, no, sorrow. This is not a film for young children, but older children and adults familiar with the evil addressed in this movie should go and see it. This movie deserves great success. I rate it 9 out of 10 and would have given it a perfect score except for some small technical questions, but none that take away from this fantastic piece of cinema - All associated with this movie should be rightly proud of there work and if any of you read these comments - Thank You!

Utterly Devastating

[mjavfc1 · 10/10 · 28 August 2008]

My fiancé and I purchased tickets for a special advanced screening of this movie during the Carnegie Film Festival in Dunfermline, Fife. I didn't realise, but we were one of the first people to see it. I will try and not spoil it and keep the review very simple and straight forward.

The film is mainly shot through the eyes of Bruno played by Asa Butterfield growing up in war time Germany during the holocaust. After relocating at the will of the German Army, the film then centres on the friendship between Bruno and Shmuel (Jack Scanlon). I will end it there as I don't wish to spoil the rest of the film.

Putting to one side the fact that everyone has a flawless English accent (which does make it difficult to hate them at first), the cinematics, sound, editing and above all acting are a credit to the British film industry.

Asa Butterfield is fine young actor and I'm sure will be destined for even greater things in the future.

As I mentioned above, I won't give anything away, but I will say that this is the first time I have been to the Cinema and everyone sat quiet right up until the end of the credits.

Please, please see this film. It will remain with you for a long time.

Good!

[sharkie-294-946704 · 7/10 · 18 February 2012]

There has also been some criticism of the fact that all the actors speak in Received Pronounciation English accents (even American actress Vera Farmiga, whose English accent is completely faultless). This is true, although to be completely accurate, all the actors would have to speak in German and the film would have had to be subtitled as a result.

In truth, however, none of these criticisms actually matters a damn. For even though all of the above is undeniably true, the film still works. And my, how it works. When it finished, I sat in my seat stunned (I had the same reaction after watching "Disaster Movie" last week, but most definitely not for the same reason, I assure you).

The Holocaust as seen through the prism of 8 year old German boy is a novel approach and although we all know what is happening at the camp nearby, at the beginning, he does not. And every step he takes, he gets closer to discovering the truth, losing his childhood innocence in the process.

What I liked about this film is the sophisticated and multi-layered portrayal of the German characters. None of them are one dimensional wholly evil characters but nor are they wholly good either (not even Bruno who tells lies on several occasions, one occasion which results in brutal punishment for one of the prisoners as a consequence).

Amazing

[sophie-l-chapman · 10/10 · 22 September 2008]

Although it starts of slow,you soon get wrapped up in the story and feel as if you are there. It's amazing to see the different points of view and the acting is so believable you feel as if it is all happening there and then. I have cried at films in the cinema before but this is the only film that has made me want to sob. When it finished and the credits started rolling, no one moved from their seats or said anything. We were all shocked, and when people did start to get up an leave the cinema, still no one said anything. It is the best film i have ever seen and recommend everyone sees it.

Sophie x x x

Touching and Powerful, but Lacking

[thewillt08 · 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.

A movie that everyone must watch

[Niazbd · 10/10 · 14 September 2008]

I was sitting at the very back row of Cineworld, Dublin screen nine and struggling with my tears. I thought it would be extremely embarrassing if people see tears in my eyes. But I was so wrong! The lady sitting beside me was crying like anything. Finally we ended up with the move and it started showing casts on its black screen. But, not a single person moved from his seat or probably lost their (including myself) power to move. The only sound I heard was the sound of people's emotion. Guy sitting one row before me hugged his girlfriend who were crying like a little kid. The guy himself was also in tear. I saw a girl from Cineworld cleaning staff with horrifying red eyes. Everyone was spellbound there!

I am talking about the movie THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, unexpectedly a too good movie. I didn't have a single clue about the movie itself and just tried to explore something new. Fortunately or unfortunately, Bruno (main cast of the movie), a young 8-years old kid who love to explore new world explored too much for us that made us all cry while leaving the cinema. I just don't want to spoil your entertainment by giving hints about the story. Rather, I would suggest you to watch the movie and discover some critical facts that sometime we forget in this heartless world.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, a movie from an Irish writer and an English director; everyone must watch. If you tell me to rate, I would say, 1 to 10 scale is not enough to rate this movie. We better keep it above rating!

One of the most important (and emotionally devastating) war movies of all time.

[LSUK · 10/10 · 10 May 2020]

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is an incredibly devastating movie which will leave you as an emotional wreck by the end... trust me. Even so, it is one of the sides of the war which is rarely shown in cinema and as a result, is a very important view and should be watched by everyone. I originally watched this movie in Secondary School when i was no older than 13 (my English teacher must enjoy watching kids cry). It has stuck with me ever since, and still to this day it leaves me speechless.

The story is told from the perspective of 8 year old Bruno, which provides the audience with a different perspective to the war that isn't seen too often. From an innocent mind. This only helps to make the movie's ending so much more powerful. Without giving anything away, this movie will stick with you for a long time.

The movie itself has been created beautifully. The cinematics, sound and editing is amazing and really helps create the perfect picture. I want to mention separately how good the actors were though. Some of these scenes wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective if it wasn't for the acting. 10/10. Makes me so proud of the British film industry :')

I highly suggest you watch this movie. Just have some tissues ready.

A Powerful & Unforgettable Finale That Will Haunt You For Days

[CinemaClown · 10 October 2013]

Exploring the horrors of the darkest period in human history & telling the tale from the point of view of an eight year old boy, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a strong, heartfelt story of a forbidden friendship formed between a German boy of a Nazi official & a Jewish boy in an extermination camp and it's the evolution of their friendship that is the soul of this film. Slow yet engaging in its narration, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is very well directed, wonderfully performed Holocaust drama that manages to keep you glued to the screen throughout its runtime & delivers a final twist so powerful & unforgettable that it'll haunt you for a long time.

Moving + doesn't put a foot wrong

[sara-343 · 8/10 · 11 September 2008]

You don't often sit in a BAFTA screening and hear weeping behind you but even the most hardened cineaste would be moved by this look at the holocaust through an Aryan child's eyes.

It is beautifully scripted, acted and shot too - with none of the anachronisms of taste and language that bedevil historically-set films such as The Duchess.

A small, British movie with an unusual take on a ghastly and well-worn subject.

PS - for parents: It's a 12A in Britain and I wouldn't take a child under about eleven. Nor would I let them go alone.

Excellent and moving

[vohartmann · 9/10 · 2 May 2011]

I have read and seen a lot about the Holocaust, and although I know that a story like that could not have happened in reality (the single line fence, where two kids could have met unobserved; the naivety and ignorance of an 8-year old boy), I was very moved and found the film extremely well done. In the end I could not hold back tears.

As a German for once I thought, wow, here is a German family in the Nazi period in a British film that does not look and sound like a caricature of Germans. The fact that all actors talked in accent-free English made it sound the way Germans sound to Germans: normal and without accent! The characters are even likable, in the beginning even the father.

And that is what makes the Holocaust all the more horrific. That there were so many "normal" people involved who, under different circumstances, would have led an unremarkable life, and would have been (more or less) nice and good colleagues, neighbours, family people. Only that, when their moral conscience was demanded, they were not able to see, to feel, to say 'no', out of a fear to stand up to 'authority', out of a misguided sense of 'duty', out of career ambitions, out of a lack of self-confidence that seduces one to follow the crowd, to use those that are singled out as 'enemies' and scapegoats to look down upon, to mistreat them, and in the end even to kill them. (The fact that it were your own people, sometimes your own grandfather or other family members who were involved in these crimes--and who you have known as friendly, lovable people in your family--is not easy to come to terms with for Germans who were born after the war.)

Hats off to all the actors, but in particular to the two boys who played Bruno and Shmuel.

Touching, Thought-provoking Holocaust Film

[Bassetyabrag · 10/10 · 27 January 2023]

A powerful and thought-provoking film that tells the story of the Holocaust through the eyes of two young boys. It based on John Boyne's 2006 novel of the same name. The performances of the cast are outstanding, particularly that of Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon. They are able to convey the innocence, confusion, and fear of the characters in a way that is both heartbreaking and authentic.

The film's direction is also noteworthy, it presents a unique perspective on the Holocaust, it is able to explore the innocence of childhood and the atrocities of war through the eyes of these two young boys. The cinematography is also noteworthy, with the stark contrast between the lush greenery of the countryside and the gray, oppressive atmosphere of the concentration camp.

Evil as seen though the eyes of innocent children

[wlb · 9/10 · 23 November 2008]

Of all my reviews, I believe that this is the first "9" I have given a film. I do not know the mechanics of the film business and distribution, but I had been hearing "buzz" and radio advertisements about this film for the last 30 days, and it wasn't until recently that it opened in only 2 theaters (25 miles apart) in all of metropolitan Sacramento.

The film affected me on several levels- one of which how a nice "family man" could become an SS commandant over a concentration camp. The father was happily married with an 8 year old boy and 12 year old girl.

And the family (wife and mother in law) had some conversations that I am sure resonated in at least a few German family households during that era.

The father justified his work with the rationalization heard over history with genocide that "they aren't really people".

I will have to say that given the usual mindless entertainment on the silver screen this movie will stay with you.

The main theme of the movie is how 2 innocent 8 year old boys are affected by evil, and man's inhumanity to man.

I had heard some detractors say that all of the "Germans" are speaking with English accents, including the American actress Vera Farmiga (I suppose to stay consistent with the other British actors) - their contention that somehow this detracts from the authenticity.

The acting and the script takes you to wartime Germany, with whatever accents the actors are using. That is the best compliment that I can give.

One of the year's best, in my opinion.

Take the Idea and Run

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 15 November 2009]

While I thought this was a good movie, my thoughts at times came back to the standard premise around the situation comedy. Let's take this character and this character, throw them together, and see what happens. There are so many movies about the Holocaust. Some are based on real events and others take the events that took place and extrapolate on them. I couldn't get over the premise of "What if you took the young son of the commandant of a death camp during the Holocaust and he met a little Jewish boy?" The whole relationship and the lack of basic security kind of throws me. The boys seem to have the run of things. When they meet, except for the siren that forces one of them back, it's as if they are ignored. Now, if we accept the premise put forth and can believe in it, it becomes, of course, an indictment of blind loyalty and a tragedy. I just never got there. The performances are good and there's that edge that Nazi power presents, so it's still very hard to watch, but I'm just left with an empty, skeptical sense.

A movie that hits you deeply!

[avi-09171 · 9/10 · 25 January 2021]

No matter what your ideological beliefs are, im pretty sure that at the end of this movie, you will ask a few basic question to yourself , why wars happens? Why are innocent lives sacrificied? What is the purpose of it? Why there is so much hate in this world? Beautifully story line and impactful performances of the characters, which gives you a short yet crisp insight on the Nazi dominated Germany of 1940s.

Considering the subject, why wasn't I moved or even shocked?

[MOscarbradley · 6/10 · 6 November 2008]

As a film about childhood, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" seems to me neither patronizing nor condescending and is equipped with an intelligence rare in films of its kind. Its target audience appears to be children of a certain age, (the age of its protagonists, perhaps, or a few years older?), though, God knows, in this age of dumbing everything down, where so-called 'grown-ups' are presumed to have the mental age of eight year olds, did the makers of this film really think it would play to that target audience? So should we be grateful that Mark Herman has made a film that doesn't insult us or at least treats an 'adult' subject in a user-friendly manner that will also appeal, though appeal hardly seems to be the right word, to children? Up to a point, yes. There are good things in this film, things that raise it above much of the run-of-the-mill fare that fills our multiplexes today. But this is also a film about the Holocaust; indeed, it is the Holocaust, rather than childhood, which dominates and in this respect I found the film, finally, both trivial and banal, or rather I found the ending trivial and banal since it reduces the horrors and evils of Nazism to a melodramatic cliché.

For a good deal of the film I was persuaded by Herman's view, (though really it is the view of John Boyne who wrote the book on which the film is based), of this period in history, which we know to have been an abomination. It's a simplistic view which is as it should be, since everything that happens is seen through the eyes of Bruno, the impressionable and likable eight year old son of a concentration camp commandant. (That is the first of the film's virtues; it lets us see that the evils that men do does not necessarily transfer to their children or even their wives or mothers).

Bruno has the naivety of true innocence and his very slow grasp of reality is disturbing. (You hope that some semblance of the horrors that are all around him rub off on him if only to harden him enough to save him). But this is a child's view of the world and the view of a child from a much earlier, much more innocent time. Yet the four years that separate Bruno from his older sister are telling. She is twelve but with all the precociousness and budding sexuality of a young woman anxious to please. She is easily lead and you fear for her.

The film is also good at the even-handed way it tells us that not all Germans were tainted by Nazism. Despite being married to the commandant of a concentration camp, Bruno's mother seems blissfully unaware of what is actually going on. Not only is she kept in the dark as to the exterminations in the gas chambers but she also seems unaware as to the whole programme which the Nazis developed for the extermination of the entire Jewish race, (to her, they are just prisoners). The realization, when it comes, disgusts her but she, like so many others, is powerless to do anything about it. (Dissention can lead to incarceration or even death). Even the young lieutenant is victimized for his father's failure to support the Party.

Where the film fails is in establishing any kind of convincing relationship between Bruno and Shmuel, the little Jewish boy he befriends behind the wire, which would make the ending devastating or even poignant rather than simply contrived. Shmuel is the boy in the stripped in the pajamas but he fades into the background and, despite being well played by Jack Scanlon, his character is never convincing. Still, I might have forgiven Herman this, (or Boyne, assuming Herman sticks to the novel's plot - I haven't read it), if he had not felt the need to go down the obvious, predictable route. I could see the ending coming a mile off, (or at least from the film's mid-point). What I couldn't see coming was the cack-handed way Herman handles it, depleting much of the good work he had done earlier.

Always a good director of actors, ("Brassed Off", "Little Voice"), Herman again draws fine performances from his cast. Asa Butterfield is excellent as Bruno, capturing both the boy's fragility and wide-eyed wonder. As Shmuel, Jack Scanlon is fine but it's an under-developed part, which is something of a pity. Vera Farmiga also manages to make credible the frankly incredible role of the incredulous wife and mother, although again I wish the part itself was not so formulaic, and there are nice cameos from Jim Norton and Sheila Hancock.

Other criticisms levied at the film from other sources are that it 'Disneyfies' the Holocaust and also that it looks like 'a BBC film'. I can't subscribe to the first. There is a much harder edge to it than Disney would ever have given it and while it may feel very much like a BBC production this, in itself, is no bad thing. No, the main fault with Herman's movie is that it is bland for too much of the time and hysterical just when it needs to be focused.

10

[Edvis-1997 · 10/10 · 16 March 2019]

It was absolutely masterpiece. It's hardly possible to find movies like this. That could tell something about history(past),about friendship and the ending was so cruel which made this film legendary one of the best I've seen in my whole life.

Heartbreaking Sight of War and Holocaust through Innocent Eyes

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 19 June 2009]

In World War II, in Berlin, Commander Ralph (David Thewlis) is promoted and assigned to be in charge of a "labor work" in the countryside. After a farewell party, he moves with his wife (Vera Farmiga), his twelve year-old daughter Gretel (Amber Beattie), his eight year-old son Bruno (Asa Butterfield) and their maid to a huge house nearby the concentration camp that Bruno believes it is a strange farm with the locals wearing pyjamas all day long. The lonely Bruno feels bored without his friends at home and decides to explore the area without the knowledge of his family. He goes to the "farm" and befriends the prisoner Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), who is also eight years old, and they meet each other everyday but separated though an electrified barbwire fence. Bruno lives a conflict about the Jews while having classes with his tutor and at home with the German officers; when Shmuel's father disappears in the camp, Bruno digs a hole and wears pyjamas to help his friend to find his father with tragic consequences.

Yesterday I watched the heartbreaking "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and I am still moved with this touching and tragic tale of two pure boys and their sight of war and holocaust through their innocent eyes. The performances are top-notch, highlighting the expressive Asa Butterfield in the lead role and Jack Scanlon; inclusive I intend to see "Son of Rambow" very soon because Asa Butterfield works also in this movie. The unusual approach of the holocaust is original since it is seen and felt by a young German boy and his naive mother, and the reaction of his mother when she discovers what the smoke is indeed is impressive. The sets, decoration and costumes are also magnificent. The very sad conclusion recalled me "Hair", when the lead character is in the wrong place in the wrong time and I doubt a viewer can see it without feeling any emotion or even crying. Last but not the least, "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" is never corny or manipulative, and I have just included this movie in my list of favorite. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Garoto do Pijama Listrado" ("The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas")

A Good Movie That Haunts You When It's Over

[sddavis63 · 9/10 · 1 April 2009]

I didn't see the end coming at all. To that point, I thought this was a very well done movie, depicting the innocence of an 8 year old boy growing up in the Third Reich who finds himself in the midst of some ugly history-making when his father becomes commandant of a concentration camp. Up to the end I thought this featured great performances, especially from David Thewlis as the cold as ice, duty bound officer who goes about the business of running a concentration camp as if it were like running any business enterprise. The brief scene in which he's sitting at his desk calmly discussing plans for additional crematorium ovens for the camp is especially chilling, because by then, finally, we kind of know what's going to happen. I was also impressed by Vera Farmiga as the angst-ridden mother who wants nothing to do with this gruesome business. Bruno, played by young Asa Butterfield, came across as perhaps a bit too naive, never really figuring out what's going on in the camp even after he begins to be taught by his virulently anti-semitic tutor. His sister Gretel becomes the portrait of an indoctrinated child, who buys the Nazi propaganda fed her by the tutor hook, line and sinker. Until the end, it was pretty good. My biggest criticism of it to that point was that I felt it presented a far too sanitized view of life in the camp, from the glimpses we saw of it. When the final scenes come, though, it ratchets up a couple of notches beyond very good. The ending (which I won't give away) is haunting and chilling and sobering - I can't list all the words that might describe it. All I can say is that in the end a very good movie becomes one that won't get out of your head for quite a while.

It's broked my heart💔

[he-66294 · 9/10 · 6 August 2021]

Great movie, I think it's a must watched movie. I don't know how to tell that this movie makes me cry,,,

I told you, it's not a game; we just all have numbers

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 7/10 · 12 June 2010]

I haven't read the novel, nor did I know of it. When I first heard of this, I knew I would watch it. I honestly did want to like this. Let's start with a complaint I've heard; the children do not talk like adults. My guess is that whoever thinks they do is affected by the fact that they speak British, not American, English; yes, some of it is upper class and such, however, offspring of these people would be using those words. As Ebert points out, it fits, it shows their level in society. I also want to say that the accuracy(the lack of German language notwithstanding), is impressive(other than the outspoken mother... not after '34). Before, I believed that the music early on was not the sort that would be heard there, but I asked my father who's an expert on the subject, and he confirmed that it could and would. This tries to cram in a lot of information about the Nazis and their propaganda; I couldn't help notice how awkwardly shoe-horned in a lot of it was. The feminism is downright misplaced; there was still only a little support for equal rights for the genders in the rest of the Western world around the 1940's. Most of what this tells us is true, though; the issue is that the thing is not long enough for it to come naturally. In general, this doesn't seem to realize that it's a mere 90 minutes, only the last twenty of which are all that engaging. I can't claim that this really captured me. The kids, for how well-behaved they can be, are annoying(you need to sell me on why I'm meant to care about these people, regardless of age). It's not their perspective that bothers me; I *love* Let The Right One In. The bonding footage is oddly placed late in this. Bruno isn't that appealing, both as a character and based on the actor. The performances are good. Editing and cinematography are nice. The writing varies... is it just me, or are these people kinda stupid? Take the dinner scene, for example. There is brief and intense disturbing content(and an underlying tone of it in other portions), and instant nudity in this. The DVD comes with an interesting commentary track by the writer, author and director, a featurette that I will review on its own page here on the site, and 6 minutes of deleted scenes with the option of hearing the thoughts on them. I recommend this to those who want to catch every well-made movie about the Holocaust. 7/10