As mentioned in the title of this one, I have now seen "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas". It was somewhat different than I expected, though after having seen it, I certainly wouldn't change a single word in my last recommendation concerning children seeing it. Talk to them about it before and after!
Onto my review (henceforth everything I write is completely editorial in nature except for the plot flow... if you don't like hints of what might be spoilers, please don't hesitate to discontinue reading):
The beginning of this movie is lovely. Bruno is a normal little boy racing around the streets of Berlin with his friends, pretending they are fighter pilots. He lives in a beautiful, warm, comfortable home with his father, mother, and sister. Most of the scenes set here are homey, celebratory, and contented - in complete contrast to the rest of the film. The day that Bruno and his family move from this house there is one scene of foreshadowing that is a little disturbing for those who are aware of how the story ends, but for those unaware of the ending, it wouldn't really give rise to too much concern, it is something of a bookend though.
The family moves from their home in Berlin to a new house out in the country, far away from Berlin and everything Bruno had ever known. Needless to say, he does not like it. The new house is hard, and sterile, and cold, and there is no one around that is Bruno's age to make friends with. It is at this house that the shadow begins to fall, as one thing after another begins to turn sour.
Out of boredom, Bruno eventually "explores" himself right into the wood behind his new backyard, a place his mother has forbidden him to go. It is just on the other side of this wood that Bruno finally meets Shmuel, another little boy his own age who wears "stripped pajamas" all the time. Bruno is thrilled about making a new friend, the only problem is, Shmuel is behind a large electric barbed wire fence. The two of them have some stumbles, but the seemingly ever-hungry Shmuel is sweet enough to forgive Bruno for his grievances of ignorance and unintentional betrayal. Bruno in turn offers the boon of childhood joys, foods, apology, constancy, and compassion for Shmuel's hardships. In spite of the enormous obstacle that the fence represents, these two boys quickly develop a close friendship.
Before I type any farther, I have to admit, I was a little afraid of seeing this movie because I wasn't sure of the effect that the ending would have on me. But, the ending is a little easier to watch than I'd thought it would be. It doesn't have the tension that you can almost palpably feel building throughout the rest of the story, but that's not to say that this is so because the ending is so much easier to view than the other parts. Actually, it's probably the grittiest, most overcast part of the entire movie, but it has this undefinable stillness around it's characters. It's a stillness of confusion, a stillness of resolve and camaraderie, a stillness of fear, a stillness of dread, a stillness of screaming... Even now, days later, I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it is, except to say that it's like the stillness before a storm - only it's after the storm. And, it's that contemplative stillness that one takes away from the film once it's over.
The most difficult part for me to watch was just before the ending. It is during this time that both boys change into matching "stripped pajamas" and Bruno digs a hole under, and joins Shmuel on the other side of, the fence (to help Shmuel find his father). That was where my dread reached it's peak. But once a viewer realizes what's happening (and realizes the lack of control that these two small boys have over their situation), all of that tension begins to ease. Then, the ending just blows right by you in a series of choppy edit cuts back and forth between the two sides of the fence... between the desperate race to save life and the eminent extermination of it.
Overall, this movie was a sweet tribute that left out a lot of the more sensational images of the concentration camps of World War II. (If you are seeking something more graphic in nature, I would absolutely recommend, "The Devil's Arithmetic", although it is much more difficult to watch. Since it is told as a flashback, you have an easily identifiable protagonist in "Devil's" that contributes much more inter-story situational irony and personal insight. Those two qualities give "Devil's" a considerably sharper knife edge and much more personal immediacy.) This little movie held a more omniscient focus on the children, and their immediate and familial surroundings. There was harshness, but it was fairly sparse. "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas", is more character driven than it is documentary, and while it should absolutely stand as a quietly beautiful testament to all of the Innocents who fell during the Nazi regime, it isn't going to be too much help to someone who is viewing it for the purposes of writing a detailed report about the facts of the Holocaust.
Kisses,
Kayla
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