“Powerful, innocent and absolutely tragic!”
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DVD TITLE: THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS
DURATION: 94 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, English and Spanish Subtitles, Widescreen (1:85:1), Enhanced for 16×9 televisions
COMPANY: Miramax Films
RATED: PG-13 (For some mature thematic material involving the Holocaust)
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2009
Written for the screen and Directed by Mike Herman
Based on “THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS” by John Boyne
Produced by David Heyman
Executive Produced by Mark Herman and Christine Langan
Co-Produced by Rosie Alison
Director of Photography: Benoit Delhomme, AFC
Production Designer: Martin Childs
Edited by Michael Ellis, A.C.E.
Music by James Horner
Costume Designer: Natalie Ward
Starring:
Asa Butterfield as Bruno
Jack Scanlong as Shmuel
David Thewlis as Father
Vera Farmiga as Mother
Aber Beattie as Gretel
David Hayman as Pavel
Hery Kingsmill as Karl
Zac Mattoon O’Brien as Leon
Domonkos Nemeth as Martin
Richard Johnson as Grandpa
Sheila Hancock as Grandma
Laszlo Aron as Lars
Powerful, innocent and absolutely tragic! ‘THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS’ is simply an amazing film.
The film focuses on a family of four focusing on the youngest, Bruno (Asa Butterfield), a naive young eight-year-old who loves playing “airplanes” with his friends. But he learns that his father, a high ranking Nazi officer is being moved to a new area (to oversee a Jewish concentration camp) and thus it will be a start of a new life for Bruno and his family.
For Bruno’s father (played by David Thewlis), the man does his job for their thinking of a better world and thus massacring the Jews. Bruno’s grandfather (Richard Johnson) is supportive and proud of his dad but his grandmother (Sheila Hacock) feels shame for his son. Of course, that is the first major secret the family has kept (any German who objects to the Nazi way of thinking would be incarcerated or would be branded a traitor).
But the family begins their new life in their new home. With armed guards and a Jewish slave/helper named Pavel, the family tries to get accustomed to their new surroundings. Of course, Bruno is not to thrilled because he has no friends around him but outside his bedroom window, he sees a farm (actually, the concentration camp) and wonders why everyone is wearing striped pajamas.
His mother (Vera Farmiga) is shocked that they have moved not far from a concentration camp. She thought they would be many miles away not right near it. Meanwhile, Bruno’s sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) who was a young daughter at 12-years-old fascinated with dolls, suddenly becomes fascinated with the young Nazi soldier who is a driver for the family.
But as much as his parents have told him to not look towards the “farm”, Bruno runs off towards what he thinks is a farm and he sees a young boy sitting near the electric wired fence. The boy is named Shmuel (Jack Scanlon). Bruno is just happy to find someone young that he can play with but doesn’t understand why he wears pajamas or can’t play. Shmuel is also naive himself. He knows that he must follow the rules in the concentration camp but he sits in the corner behind a rock to be alone.
The two become friends and Bruno eventually comes to visit him everyday with food and so he can play games or talk with him.
Throughout the course of the film, we see Bruno, who doesn’t fully understand the war and when he wants to read adventure books, his instructor teaches him about being proud to be Nazi and why he should despite the Jewish people.
This is where Bruno is confused because the servant named Pavel seems like a nice guy, Shmuel seems like a nice guy but his teacher tells him that there are no good Jewish people and if he ever found one, he would be a great explorer.
In the air outside the home, there is a putrid stench and sure enough Bruno’s mother finds out from one of the soldiers that the smell is the cremation of Jewish people. She is just in awe of how terrible they are being treated and thus leads to problems between her and her husband. Her husband is doing his job but for Bruno’s mother, she can’t believe they are living near a concentration camp.
In one scene, the family witnesses during dinner time, Pavel accidentally spills wine on the table and literally taken to another room and kicked to death.
This pushes Bruno’s mother even more to the edge now because she has to witness the brutalization of Jewish people in her home. Of course, Bruno is naive and not knowing what happened to Pavel.
Next thing you know, Pavel is replaced by Shmuel. Bruno is so happy to have his friend now at his home and his friend looks so hungry, Bruno gives him some food. But unfortunately, a Nazi soldier catches them and when Bruno is yelled at and asked how the Jewish boy got the food, in fear, Bruno tells the soldier that Shmuel stole it and thus Shmuel is taken in for punishment.
Because of his lie, Bruno knows he did something very bad and now his friend has gotten hurt. But being a friend, Bruno wants to make it up to Shmuel.
“THE BOY IN STRIPED PAJAMAS” deals with Bruno’s naiveness but yet his friendship with Shmuel, his sister’s transformation to a girl who liked to play with dolls to a loyal believer in Hitler and the Nazis but also seeing how his mother’s conscience starts to eat her up and knowing what her husband is in charge of and that they are living near a death camp and seeing how the Jewish people are treated.
“THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMES” is powerful and moving film but very tragic.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
The film is presented in Widescreen (1:85:1), enhanced for 16×9 televisions. Video quality on this DVD is pretty good as you do get a sense of color during the outdoor scenes and good lighting and set design as well.
Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with the film being primarily a dialogue film that comes clear on your front channel speakers. Music is used to show emotion of a scene and is utilized quite well.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are three special features included on the DVD for “THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS”. Included are:
- Deleted Scenes (With Optional Commentary by Writer/Director Mark Herman and Author John Boyne) – About five deleted scenes with commentary. Most of the cuts were made early in the film.
- Friendship Beyond the Fence Featurette – A featurette featuring interviews with the director and the cast of the film.  Comments on how talented Asa Butterfield was as a young actor and playing Bruno. Each talked about their character and working with each other, asking Asa Butterfield (Bruno) and Jack Scanlon (Shmuel) about their knowledge of the Holocaust and even having to remake one of the Nazi propaganda films of Jewish enjoying the concentration camps which was used in the film.
- Feature Commentary by Writer/Director Mark Herman and Author John Boyne – Both discuss the film and talk about the talent, the characters and differences between the film and the book. Certain shots and the emotions that the director wanted to capture on screen.
I have to admit that with a Holocaust film involving children, I wasn’t sure where this story was going. But by the film’s end and the final wide shot, I was just amazed by the film and yet saddened by how tragic the film ended.
I was really moved by the film and the various performances. I was very amazed by Asa Butterfield’s performance as Bruno and because he was naive and really didn’t care about how the Nazi’s felt about the Jews, he was able to have this friendship with Shmuel. Jack Scanlon’s Shmuel was also another performance that was well done and you had this sense of sadness in the child’s eyes.
Vera Farmiga’s performance as his mother was well-done and seeing how she started out as this strong woman, good mother and proud wife of a high ranking Nazi officer but then seeing her evolve when she discovers the atrocities and having to live nearby and having to bare with death near her home and having to lie to her children of what is happening.
But what was innocent for the most part of the film really shocks you at what happens at the end of the film. I was shocked of how it ended and I’ll just leave it at that.
Very good costume and set design and really good cinematography by Benoit Delhomme. The screenplay was well-written, emotions well captured on film and each talent did a great job in portraying their character.
Everything was well done in this film.
A powerful and moving film, “THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS” is a film that deserves to watched. It’s not a film about the Holocaust with guns ablazing, it’s a film that shows the cruelty of that time but focusing on an eight-year-old boy who knows not of what is going on around him, not knowing why the Nazi’s hate the Jewish people but being optimistic that once the war is over, he and Shmuel can finally play together. Naive to know that the “farm” where he thinks Shmuel and others are having fun in is actually a concentration camp where many people are being massacred. And it’s the naivety of both children, not knowing how dangerous things are but knowing that their friendship is real that sets up the final part of the film.
“THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS” is highly recommended!