The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Vera Farmiga, Assa Butterfield, David Thewlis) – The Holocaust was the singularly most important and horrifying event of the 20th century. It has been depicted in many films but few in as personal and heartbreaking a way as in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The perspective of this relatively short movie (only about 90 minutes) is from that of an eight-year-old, the son of the commandant (David Thewlis) of a concentration camp. Of course, the rest of the family doesn’t know that that’s father’s job until weeks after they move from their beautiful Berlin home to their nice country home. Not everyone in the commandant’s family is a fan of the war, particularly his mother, who refuses to visit the country home. Neither is his wife, played by Vera Farmiga who was both Leonardo DiCaprio’s and Matt Damon’s love interest in The Departed. Actually, she is less against the war than against the atrocities against the Jews. When she realizes the family lives within view of the “camp” and witnesses the treatment of the Jew who is assigned to the family as a cook, server and servant, she becomes mad, sad, and concerned for her two children. Her 12-year-old daughter quickly becomes Nazified thanks to a young German officer and the children’s obnoxious tutor. Her son, Bruno (outstanding child-actor Assa Butterfield), is bored, perceptive, and adventuresome. Against his parents’ orders, he explores the backyard of the house, which borders on what he thinks is a “farm” where the farmers and children wear pajamas.
He visits the electrified fence near the camp where he meets Shmuel (Yiddish for Samuel), an eight-year-old who he befriends. Shmuel serves as his educator about the camp, its people and his Jewishness. Bruno sneaks him food, plays checkers across the fence, and forges a bond that cannot have a happy ending. The movie then spirals to its inevitable ending but with a twist that doesn’t become evident until the last reel. This is a marvelous film that is depressing and enlightening. As evil as most of the characters are, the movie also depicts the fact that not all Germans supported all of the policies of Hitler and his henchmen.
The only thing I did not like about the movie was the fact that everyone not only spoke English – very British English (even from American Farmiga) but that no one even attempted a German or eastern European accent. The director, Mark Herman, chose not to use any technique to move us from German to English like those used effectively in other films. I almost felt that this movie should have been subtitled, and I rarely like subtitled movies. Nonetheless, that is just being picky. This is a must-see film for anyone with a conscience.