Movie Review: The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

British made and shot in Hungary this uplifting experience charts the course of a family deeply involved in the German war effort.

Looks mean everything but appearances can be deceiving. Life in Berlin seems to be going fine for one fine German family. Young Bruno seems to enjoy being a boy with a good network of friends in the neighbourhood while older sis Gretel seems content playing with her dolls and getting interested in boys. Things can change in a hurry, especially in the late 30s as Hitler’s war machine is moving into high gear.

Unbeknownst to some Bruno’s dad is a key cog in the German war effort. Alongside his beautiful wife the family gets sent to the country to oversee a major Third Reich effort. Now the dad is in charge of a secret mission and once secluded away from home you can sense the apprehension in the family.

Nerves of steel resonate well from the dad but other members of the household have a bit of difficulty adapting to their new surroundings. Bruno especially doesn’t like his new environment and being a boy, curiosity gets the best of him. Routine playtime turns into anything but as this impressionable youth “accidentally” meets up with a concentration camp inmate. All of a sudden this eight year old gets thrust into adulthood as the issues of hate and ethnic cleansing come to the fore while a domineering dad tires to make the best of the situation.

Fascinating and horrific at the same time, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a superior tale of warfare and the way secrets can tear people apart. Morality is a huge issue and here the filmmakers pull no punches as they show man’s inhumanity to man through the eyes of a child.