The Boy in the Striped Pajamas [DVD]

By Darrell Stoddard, darrellstoddard@gmail.com This emotionally wrenching film deserves 10 Stars. Changed my life forever and a major part of my life was spent in motion pictures. The movie will change your life everlastingly too if you open your heart to a simple fictional story of a little German boy who befriends a Jewish boy through the barbed wire fence of a concentration camp. My heart was ripped out, but I will be a more loving, gracious, forgiving person for having seen this sensitive and also horrifying motion picture. YES, as the reviewers have said: It is "historically inaccurate to the extreme." "It is total fiction." It is "ridiculously contrived." It is "all too absurd." It is "hard to swallow." It is "forced and artificial," and "The actors have British accents instead of German." One critic posed the question, "Did Bruno's father in the end get what he deserved?" Such moralizing and such criticisms of the film make me wonder if those viewers of the film missed the unanswered questions of the Holocaust. How could it happen? How could so many good people allow it to happen? The most insightful reviewer said, "What is appalling to me is reading all of the one-star reviews. I now see how the holocaust (shoah) could have taken place. All that is necessary is for a nation to be composed of and ruled by people with no feelings, bereft of human compassion and sensitivity, just like several of the reviewers here." Great Art (even fiction) reveals to us "things as they really are". Through Bruno and his mother, we see through the eyes of Germans who were totally innocent until they came face to face with with the horrors of the "final solution." Most Europeans accepted the deportation of Jews, some not knowing what would be their fate and others even accepting the fate of Jews because it was so easy to blame Jewish Merchants and Jewish Bankers for World War 1 and for the collapse of the German economy. Savings were totally wiped out. It took 22 million German Marks to buy a loaf of bread. Though not the same, we can understand today how easy it would be to blame all Muslims for 9/11. Through Bruno's sister we see how easy it was to indoctrinate an entire nation of German youth. A notable exception was the 17 year old Mormon boy, Helmuth Hubener, that resisted the 3rd Reich and was sentenced by a German Court for treason and beheaded by guillotine on October 27, 1942 at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin. (See his true story on Wikipedia!) In this motion picture we see and learn how good men, good fathers, and good soldiers, putting military obedience ahead of even their mothers, wives and children, directed and became the executioners of millions of Jews. Even still photos of all the corpses, and eye witness accounts of the Holocaust do not give us that understanding. Last, by identifying and seeing through the eyes of an innocent child, we learn from the film what it was like to be ordered into the gas chambers. No other motion picture, book, or document has ever, or ever will, capture that experience or the depth of those feelings like the film "Boy in the Stripped Pajamas." Would that each viewer could become as a little child (Matthew 18:3), like Bruno, not judgmental, and not critical. The Holocaust (like the film) is hard to believe but the gas chambers to kill and the ovens to burn bodies were real. I've seen them with my own eyes. I've been in the house made sacred by Anne Frank. My next door neighbor was one of the first U.S. soldiers into the Dachau Prison Camp, and my neighbor across the street served in the Danish Underground. Let us resolve, NEVER AGAIN, not just in five languages, but in all the languages of the world. There were those in Germany that truly did not know what was happening to the Jews, but no other film answers for me how an entire nation could be led by one man to kill, or accept the killing, of so many. I will be forever haunted by the words, "If he had been your Fuehrer, you would have followed him too." Although it is fiction, "Boy In the Striped Pajamas" reveals not the historical truth, but the TRUTH of Nazi Germany as it was. FOOTNOTE: What follows regarding man's inhumanity to man is presented because HISTORY WILL REPEAT ITSELF IF WE DO NOT KNOW AND UNDERSTAND IT! People today need to know that Hitler did not invent anti-semitism. It began with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and has never ceased. It is mind boggling to learn that throughout history there have been innumerable and hundreds of attempts in many countries to kill all of the Jews. (See "Pogroms" on Google, then read the Wikipedia account.) I was shocked beyond belief to read Martin Luther's anti Jewish sentiments published in 1543 (See "On the Jews and Their Lies - Wikipedia" Luther's feelings about the Jews and what should be done to them were as vile and reprehensible, as any words spoken in Nazi Germany. Indeed, Luther's document may have been the blueprint for the Nazi Holocaust. Seeing history repeat itself so many times makes us wonder if there is hope to save the Jews and the world from so much hate and killing. Pope John VI in 1965 issued his historic "Nostra Aetate" that expresses understanding, forgiveness and love for the Jews and for all religions. Pope John Paul VI states in this history changing document that the death of Christ, "cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today." The age old doctrine behind all of the Pogroms which stated that "all Jews, past, present, and future were collectively guilty of the Crucifixion of Jesus," was officially revoked by a Catholic Pope! EVERYONE should read entirely the "Nostra Aetate" which is one of the most important documents in the history of mankind (It takes just a few minutes to read and can be found on Google)! The current Pope Benedict XVI who was forced to join the Hitler Youth as a child in Nazi Germany (in two books) has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ. There is hope for the world! These are history changing actions by two Catholic Popes. It would be well for everyone who wants the world to be a better place to thank Catholics for Pope John VI and Pope Benedict XVI. We must be ever vigilant against condemning another. "Therefore thou art inexcusable, Oh man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself: for thou that judgest doest the same things." (Romans 2:1). Jews who migrated to Israel after World War 11, themselves committed a Holocaust of the Palestinian people. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed and nearly one million were forced into refugee camps. "This is my Land. God gave this Land to me," was not justification for killing the Palestinians! There is one notable voice in the Middle East that documents the atrocities by all three sides and seeks to reconcile Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Melkite Christian Priest has established a school in Ibillon near Galilee where Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Druze study side by side. More important than their secular studies, students learn to love their enemies. To bring peace to the Holy Land, Elias Chacour's book "BLOOD BROTHERS" SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR EVERYONE. Two unsung and less known heroes of the Holocaust are Irena Sendler and Raoul Wallenberg. Their stories should be told along with the stories of Oskar Schindler, Corrie Ten Boom, and Anne Frank. Irena Sendler was a Polish Catholic Social worker who saved more than 2500 Jewish Children from the Warsaw Ghetto. If you have any interest in the Holocaust, YOU MUST READ the inspiring story "Life in A Jar - The Irena Sendler Story" on Google. In 2007 when Sendler was still alive, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Al Gore received the prize that year instead. Raoul Wallenberg is credited with saving near 100,000 Hungarian Jews. At the peril of his life he defied the Nazis innumerable times. Read a summary of Wallenberg's unbelievable courage to save Hungarian Jews on Google: "Profile of a Leader: The Wallenberg Effect." See Wallenberg's complete story in the book "Righteous Gentile" available used from amazon.com from a number of book dealers for one cent plus $3.99 for shipping and handling. EVERY reviewer gave the book 5 stars! Unlike Schindler, Wallenberg had only his humanity and no ulterior motive in saving Jews; and he probably saved more Jews than Schindler. Few Motion pictures can compare to the book. The motion picture "Wallenberg A Hero's Story" is even equal to the book "Righteous Gentile"! Both the book and the movie will lift your very being to heaven. Man at his best is so good, so noble, so Christlike, that we would fain throw a cover over men and women when they are less. Mankind needs Hero's like Wallenberg to lift and redeem us. It will make anyone a better person to make the book or the motion picture a part of their life. See all of my Reviews. I write only about books, events, or motion pictures that have changed the course of history or unforgettable books or motion pictures that will totally change peoples lives. Darrell Stoddard, Founder - Pain Research Institute and saveusa.biz

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is extremely intense, even painful, but so beautifully done that one becomes pulled in. In this film, we see the holocaust through the eyes of innocence - and the eyes are German. We experience the story in the heart of a loving family - and the family is German. Because of that viewpoint, we can understand a little better how people remained morally unchallenged during the holocaust, even when the ghastly truth was literally just outside their gates. We can see, achingly, that we, as good people, are not immune to allowing that which we now condemn in hindsight. The film draws parallels between the world of the camp, with the striped clothing those interred there must wear behind electrified fences, and the stark, fortress-like house in which the German commandant's family lives, with it's barred stair rail and locked, guarded fence. We come to see that both groups are, in very different ways, imprisoned. The fact that the main characters, Bruno and Schmuel, are each eight years old, allows us to feel tenderly toward them in their different innocent circumstances, and levels our sympathies. Bruno's mother is a sensitive and nurturing woman, and the daughter dabbles with the Reich teachings and the Reich heroes in the manner that we'd recognize in a twelve-year-old girl of today idolizing media stars. We are even shown the loving father inside the proud, severe military commandant. This makes experiencing the film very difficult, as the viewer becomes emotionally engaged in the friendship between Schmuel inside the camp, and Bruno with his warm German family in their compound. As a retired teacher I recall the difficulties of encouraging young people to understand this time in history. To them, the holocaust is something that happened long ago, done buy a known monster, and something that they, as modern people, simply wouldn't do. I wish I'd had this film to help them open their eyes to the commonality of people. It shows us that Germans of the holocaust were ordinary people, too. The film is fiction, but somehow it is truer than a documentary because it lets us into the hearts of those who lived in that time, and leads us to recognize that the kind of thinking that lead to the holocaust is not, most unfortunately, banished to the distant past. The seeds of the holocaust flowered into horrible fruit then, and the same seeds are within each of us now. The film shows us through the commandant's innocent family that expressions of hate can devastate the hater as well. We have an obligation to pass on the story of the holocaust to the current generation, so the mindset which lead to the atrocities can be recognized and avoided. Though it is difficult viewing, parents should watch it with children whom they judge capable, so that the priceless understanding that comes through the film will not be lost to the future.

As a former military officer in the U.S. Armed Forces, it was my privilege to be involved with studies in Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and the Air War College. In addition I received premiere education about the Nuremberg Code of 1947 and the Nuremberg Trials as conducted by Allies as the International War Crimes Trials. That background is not meant to impress the reader of this review. Rather I have looked for films that are based on historical novels and take a complicated subject so that the person with an average high school education can be enlightened. This is accomplished in the DVD, "The Boy In Stripped Pajamas." Two young actors, Asa Butterfield as Bruno, and Jack Scanlon as Schmuel are magnificent to the point of Genius, who portrayed what could have happened - and did happen - in Work Camps that were in an annex network with a main concentration camp. The producers in conjunction with Hungarian, British, German and Budapest expertise recreated the tragic atmosphere of what happened to individuals both directly and indirectly involved with Hitler's final solution. The Genius of this DVD, is any member of a family - no matter how young or old - can grasp what happened in the Holocaust - and must not take place again. I purchased this DVD and it is an essential part of my DVD collection. It is often overlooked that the innocent were exterminated in the WW II camps whether a work place or concentration center. It is important the young as well as the adults in the world comprehend what the Holocaust was. Here is an excellent movie to help gain that understanding in contemporary terms. Mankind did not cross over into Jordan during the 20th Century - and neither have we in the 21st Century. This DVD is an superb example to view and learn.

Where to begin…… A good friend had been on me to watch this movie for some time. I resisted, probably because of the title of the movie: it didn't sound all that interesting. But, after a recent visit with him. where we tried to view the movie on Netflix but had an audio problem, I ordered the DVD. As soon as it arrived, I popped it into my Blu-ray player. I won't divulge anything about the plot, other than to say the movie is set in World War II German occupied lands, touches on one of the darkest times in human history, and concerns an unlikely friendship between two young boys. All the actors speak with a British accent, which might seem a bit odd, since it's not what a person might expect from these characters. But it was a very minor distraction, since the story grabbed me right from the start. The acting is top-notch and the quality of the DVD was excellent. 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' proves you don't need special effects to make an amazing movie. I always enjoy viewing a 'Making Of' special feature, to gain insight into the creation of the movie, and was happy one was included with this DVD. All of the major players contributed to it. I don't know this movie's rating, but I truly believe that it ought to be required viewing for every Middle or High School student before they are allowed to graduate. History had a tendency to repeat itself, if we don't stop it.

I've watched many great film adaptations of books written about the Holocaust and how it affected all involved. Yet, THE BOY IN THE STRIPPED PAJAMAS, was probably the most heart-breaking movie I've seen because it showed in chilling details how two young boys - one Jewish, one German, became innocent victims of Hitler's Nazis madness to exterminate Europe of non-Aryans. The movie was all the more powerful and heart-wrenching in its portrayal of the hedonist perpetration of human extermination because the two main child characters [eight-year-old Shmuel, 'the boy in the stripped pajamas', and eight-year-old, Bruno 'the son of the Commandant responsible for the extermination camp were Shumel is held captive'] are exemplary in their roles of capturing children's naivety and inability to comprehend the unthinkable. Other reviewers have written in great detail about the specifics of the plot. It is multi-layered and complex, examining the the characters who portrayed participants and victims of a an evil event in recent history, and the effects it had on each. Instead, I prefer to focus my comments on why I believe this movie is so important. In my opinion, we underestimate the innocence of young children and their gullibility, their 'magical thinking' to believe in an idealistic world, and the pureness of their hearts to believe the best in their parents; failing to see, imagine, or comprehend any flaws. Even when young children are exposed to the 'worse' of abusive conditions, most don't grasp the depth of their circumstances. For this reason [among others] children are easily manipulated to do what they are told by predators; coerced to believe in angels and gifts when they obey, or condemned to be tormented by monstrous demons if they don't comply. Because of the subtleties in the manner the scenes are directed, rather than the 'overtness' obvious to us as adults, the dialogue between Bruno and Shumel made this movie all the more chilling to watch. As viewers, we watch their friendship blossom knowing they have already become unsuspecting victims. Through the innocent and loyal camaraderie that we witness between Bruno and Shumel - two 'sacrificial lambs' - we discover the unimaginable horror, power, magnitude, and atrocity of the Holocaust. THE BOY IN THE STRIPPED PAJAMAS is a movie to be watched by families who have teenagers. It is a film I'll long remember. Maizie Lucille James January 14, 2012

It is quite possible that more has been written and filmed about The Holocaust than any other historical event. Not just in regard to hard research, but many of the world's finest novelists have fictionalized the story, film makers have touched upon the subject, playwrights, composers, painters and poets. If there has been a way to express the shock- and shock is an understatement in this case- it has been attempted. John Boyne, a gifted and now internationally known Irish author, wrote the book "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas" in about two weeks time. As he said, in order to maintain "the voice," once he began he was afraid to stop. The same is true when reading it- we are compelled to continue and it is evident from early in the book that Boyne has disguised the terminal words so that it can apply to any and all of the other holocausts' that occurred prior to and after this one. In fact, only once does Boyne choose to use a "telling" word; on page 54 one of the officers says, "Heil Hitler" but then we are told that the boy assumed that this was like saying, "Well, goodbye for now and have a pleasant afternoon." Mark Herman, under the umbrella of both Miramax and BBC Films set forth to create this book effectively for film- a difficult task given that so much of the emotional swtruggle is internal and difficult to show on film, but he managed it and did so beautifully. Becauswe this film is in the smae catagoiry (in regard to quality) as "Sophie's Choice" I couldnt give it five stars- that doesn't mean that everyone shouldn't see this film. The small issues with the film are strongly outweighed by the genuis behind it- most of that genuis comes from the premise which leads us back to John Boyne. The boy, his name Bruno; his age eight and is able to say things with just his eyes that make the fiolm entiurely possible. Without Bruno (expeertly plkayed by Asa Butterfield) the filmn wouldnp;t work. His co -star, the nine yea old Schmuel on the other side of the fenvce ius played by Jack Scanlon who manages to exude sadnewss. The confussion that Bruno has regarding their situation is simply too complicated for Schmuel to explain. The finest performance in the film belongs to Vera Famiga, who plays Bruno's mother and wife to the Commandant at this camp. Like "Sophies Choice" and Meryl Streep's classic performance in that film, Farmiga builds and devlops over a period of ninety-three minutes until, at the apogee of the film we see her undderstanding reach fruition, just as the rain begins to fall. Her emotional breakdown at this point is raw, honest and something to which every parent can connect. The film score, composed and performed by James horner ("Titanic") is a character unto itselfl The entire score is based upon a simple piece he composed that sounds like a gentle folks song. It is diatonic and in three quarter time. He utilizes synthesiers as well as wind instruments to add omonious irony to his music (the synthesisisers were expertly prograqmmed by Ian Underwood and Aaron Martin; the music editor was Dick Bernstein. The score builds momentum and continues, often at battle with itself, disploaying conflict between the characters as well as the situation itself. The music reaches it end with the film on a perfect ubnison which echos, just as the movie does. The innocence and ignorance of this young boy is as critical to the brilliance of this work as the story of the Titanic. (I speak not just of Cameron's film, but Maury Yeston's musical, "a Night to Remember" and the three other films made between 1938 and 1984) Herin is a tool where the audience not only knows so much more than Bruno, but that we are anticipating the sadness that ends the film. So we are prepared to cry but when the end does come, it is so shockiung that we aren;t ablke to cry; it';s not possiblke, this ending, though we've taken every step with these two boys and, of courwe (nbecause of our knowledge of what really happened) we know all too well that the ending is quite feasible. This film is by no means a "Sophie's Choice" though the horror is just as shocking, but few situations in cinematic history have been able to achieve what "Sophie's Choice" did. Still, the two films use a similar foundation but are about very different things. Where the ending is horrifyingly shocking and, like "Sophie's Choice," completely unexpected (who in fact could have imagined an ending such as this one) the poignancy of "The Boy In Striped Pajamas" makes it impossible for this film- and the fame it will generate - to be satirized in any way. Because the innocence and ignorance, as a result of the way his parents have shielded Bruno, is a metaphor for the way in which the population who was aware of the death camps were inactive; complacent and how the same continues to occur day after day from the beginning of recorded time to the continued genocide in Darfur- the world's largest death camp- to which the UN has placed sanctions against while The full force of the American military tore apart Iraq in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The current political winds in the United States suggest that Gay Americans and Female Americans are just as vulnerable. All of these circumstances suggest that you could very well be next. John Boyne's book manages to suggest all of this is his two hundred page fable using a modicum of brilliantly chosen words. His ending: John Boyle has sub-titled his book, A Fable" and it is. His final words are like a double edged sword: "And that's the end of the story of Bruno and his family. Of course all of this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age." The irony of this ending reminds us that this is a fable, but more so, it makes us stop and think of the responsibility that we all owe to anyone who has been maltreated, either in the form of Bruno, Anne Frank, Sophie Zawotoski or Carol Stewart, Amy Fitzpatrick, Dave Pelzer and the millions of others. As a parent I would have watched this film with both of my daughters as early as sixth grade. Perhaps earlier. Those things that they d0o not understand will gloss over them; they will ask the right questions at the right times and it would be very wise to prepare a parental lesson plan for this because our children must learn of the Hollocaust and by far, this is the best way to introduce it to them I've seem to date. After this, they can read Anne Frank's diary and collefctively with the schools curriculum, they can see. but as we all learneed from Jonathan Demme's "silence of the Lambs" what the film doesn;t show and is left for our minds to create is often more horrific than a John Carpenter slaher film. The filmn is not able to end with the same impact as the book, but the ending is still remarkably powerful, filled with painful irony and one image that we watch for a few moments longer than we wish to as we see that there really was no other way this story could end.

This was a very well-played, well acted film about a subject we have seen and heard much about in the last 30 years or so, but not from this perspective. The actors chosen to be in the film were excellent, especially David Thewlis as the father and extermination camp commandant. Here was a case of someone who appeared to have lost his moral integrity and by the end of the movie he realizes to some extent what this has cost him. Asa Butterfield as his son is very good, considering how young he was when he made this picture. Asa has gone on to do many other pictures and I have enjoyed watching his career grow as he develops into a young adult. I won't give away the ending, except to say it is shocking even though you sense something like it is coming. I still would recommend this film, but only to viewers in their mid-teens or older, it would be too upsetting for young children to see in my opinion.

Quality of dvd was good. The sound on my tv wasn’t good though. Very low!

Worth watching. Very good movie.

Arrivato un giorno prima insieme ad altre cose prese....Avevo visto il film in tv,e mi aveva emozionato molto....A distanza di tempo,ho pensato di acquistarlo....ottimo rivederlo ogni tanto,sopratutto per imparare a non dire bugie ai bambini e imparare che i piú piccoli vedono oltre.......le "differenze" ....ps. apparte una piccola parte,non ci sono scene crude,ma molte scene giocano sull'immaginazione,(a parer mio),é questo che rende il film toccante emotivamente

Die Kindheit misst sich in Geräuschen Gerüchen und Anblicken, bevor das Dunkel der Vernunft heranwächst- dieses Zitat von John Betjeman, das ganz zu Anfang des Films zu lesen ist, bewegt mich schon stark. Und lässt vermuten, dass hier ein großartiger Film erschaffen wurde. " Wir ziehen um? Wohin denn? " - " Wir ziehen aufs Land. " - " Das ist doch ganz weit weg,.... was ist mit Karl, Leon und....Martin? " - " Ich weiß, es ist schwer. Aber ihr werdet eine Menge neuer Freunde finden. Hör` mal, die Sache ist die,....wenn man Soldat ist, dann kann man sich im Leben nicht immer alles aussuchen. Man muß seine Pflicht tun. " Begeisterung sieht anders aus, bei Bruno. " Warum haben die Bauern Pyjamas an? " - " Die Sache ist die,....es sind keine richtigen Menschen.............". Stille in meinem Innersten. Und bei Bruno auch. Erkläre einem Kind, was Krieg ist, warum Krieg ist, wofür Krieg nützt. Das, was ich in Brunos Augen sehe, spricht ganze Bände des Nichtverstehens. Bruno malt Menschen,........ Menschen in gestreiften Pyjamas. " Wie heißt du? " - " Pavel. " Und mir schießen Tränen in die Augen. " Danke " kann ein grosses, bedeutungsvolles Wort sein. ****************************************************************************** Die Geschichte............ ist die Geschichte über einen deutschen Jungen, Bruno. Und seine Beziehung zu einem Jungen,.....Shmuel aus dem Lager. Gesehen durch und mit den Augen Brunos,- denn Kinder kennen keine Vorurteile. ******************************************************************************************************************** Mein tief erschüttertes Fazit: " Hast du vielleicht etwas zu essen dabei? " DER JUNGE IM GESTREIFTEN PYJAMA, bewegend und deprimierend zugleich. Unfassbar tragisch, sehe ich in die gehetzten Augen von Shmuel, der den mitgebrachten Kuchen wie ein ausgemergeltes, getretenes Tier verschlingt. " Warum rauchen die Schornsteine manchmal so stark? Das stinkt furchtbar. Was wird da verbrannt? " - " Nur alte Kleidung..........". - " Erzähl` mir, wie das Nummernspiel geht. " - " Ich hab` dir doch gesagt,...... es ist kein Spiel. Wir haben einfach nur Nummern. " Ich könnte schreien, ich könnte weinen, ich weine. Doch es nützt keinem mehr. DER JUNGE IM GESTREIFTEN PYJAMA: Wie geht die Familie eines Nazi- Offiziers mit dem Krieg und der Judensituation um? Ausnahmslos gute Darsteller, besonders der kleine Asa Butterfield als Bruno, um den es sich im Kern dreht. Seine naiv- kindlichen Ansichten über das, was um ihn herum abgeht. Sein Unverständnis, seine offenen Fragen,........... alles das macht den Film doch kaum erträglicher. " Ich will dir mal was sagen. Die Arbeit, die dein Vater hier leistet, wird in die Geschichte eingehen...............". So traurig und so wahr. Man kann dem Film vieles vorwerfen, ja. Etwa eine Verharmlosung des Holocaust, ja. Jedoch, betrachtet man aber, worauf sich der Film bezieht,- nämlich die Auseinandersetzung eines kindlichen und völlig unbefangenen Geistes mit den Gräueltaten der Nazis- dann ist das in der Tat für mich ein absolut " gelungenes " Werk. " Es ist nur eine Dusche! Es ist nur eine Dusche!! " [ Kameramann Benoit Delhomme: " Ich las das Buch in wenigen Stunden. Und ich musste Zehn Mal weinen. " Regisseur Mark Herman: " Das Buch hat mich umgehauen. Ich dachte, daraus muß man einen Film machen.....". Produzentin Rosie Alison: " Es ist eine Geschichte über Geheimnisse und Lügen. Und über Verrat und Menschen, die sich ihre Vorurteile nicht eingestehen,....auch wenn sie sie direkt vor Augen haben. " ] Lauflänge: 90.33 Minuten ( mit Abspann ) ! Extras ( deutsche Untertitel ) : - Freundschaft, die Zäune überwindet= 19.30 Minuten! - Zusätzliche Szenen= 6 Minuten! - Audiokommentar!

Comments for people interested in the Blu Ray version of The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas: I watched the Blu Ray edition and the picture quality was flawless. The sound was 5.1 DTS. There was no atmospheric sound effects though as the movie is mostly dialogue and imagery so the film would be equally enjoyable on a portable TV. Film Review without spoilers: *The acting is superb on all counts and is not 'dumbed down' for a mass audience that needs to be helped along the way. *The faces of the characters chosen are memorable as are their performances. The lead character, who plays an eight year old called Bruno (played by Asa Butterfield) is superb. He has mesmerizing blue eyes and a well spoken British accent (I'll get back to this in a second) that even before he speaks makes you look. Vera Farmiga (who plays Bruno's mother) has that ever concerned look that reminded me of her of her impressive performance in 'Orphan' - 2009. Together they exude what a mother/child relationship in a dangerous setting should be. Bruno is forever innocent and exploring within the confines of their property and his mother is forever overly worried and anxious. *Their is no religious 'bias' creeping in, or should I say, focus on religion that may deter some. A prime example of this is: Defiance - 2009. A solid film with this problem. *There is no on screen violence and thus the film is safely appropriate for 12+ viewing. Any scenes of horror are done off screen with the viewer having to imagine what is going on, rather than being shown it. Some may argue the scene of a concentration camp is a still a little young to screen in schools. I would disagree as a child's emotions are not as fully formed as an adult thus removing the sustained sadness of the film that peaks into a tragic twist at the end. I feel it's also important and indeed useful to show children (12+) this movie, so they could understand 'War' from an entirely different perspective to a video game where people run around blasting people. In essence this film makes you think, it's a thinking persons film and induces thought in almost all who watch it. I say almost because.............. Criticisms: 1) The film is in English. I don't mean English subtitles, but English audio. This is rare and I was initially irritated with it as I was concluding before even watching it further it has 'ruined' the authenticity, however because I am English it worked. It worked because it was like seeing 'my people' in Germany and 'my people' as Jews in Germany. Very clever. Precisely because I am not German or Jewish. It thus made me, 'feel' much more. If you aren't English, or cannot assign to this idea of being able to project yourself as so (because the film is then 'unrealistic' to you), then it may not work for you. For example if the film had been in Spanish I may have thought it bizarre there are Spanish Germans and Spanish prisoners in a concentration camp in Germany. So people who want to have a 100% authentic language representation of WWII should understand this 'flaw' in this film due to this. 2) Because this movie it is not an epic war film in the Hollywood sense. It doesn't 'go anywhere' (literally) because it doesn't need to. There are no explosions and dive bombing planes with civilians running for cover, and there are certainly no winners. Instead, there is a creeping tension and sense of what is happening is morally wrong yet inescapable. Inescapable due to the fact children and adults (both Jews and Nazi's are being ordered) what do do and they cannot say no because of the situation the find themselves in. 3) An adult won't find this film memorable if they do not have emotions that are easily drawn out. This film makes grown men produce tears, if they have feelings. If they do not, then it may be considered no way near a 10/10 War film because it is unconventional in it's reporting of atrocities. Conclusion: This film isn't pro German or Pro non German, it's not even pro Jewish. It's pro human. In some ways, it could be described as a non war movie, and the war setting is just a platform to make a film about the love and evil that humans can posses inside them. Either way, the film is about the innocence of childhood set within a unique war time setting told from the perspective of a family forced into it by devotion to the fatherland of Nazi Germany. History taught us this devotion was misguided and this film demonstrates this in a personal manner that any race, religion or belief system will understand irrespective of 'whose side you are on'. And that is where it is unique. If I can think of another film to compare this with in terms of a dramatic ending but without blood and gore, I would say Sophie Scholl- 2005. Yet Sophie Scholl is more political than this. This movie is more simplistic and innocent, because it's seen through the eyes of an eight year old boy who makes decisions for himself, decisions that go on to touch other people for the rest of their lives. As did the holocaust. A firm 10/10 then, and a must watch movie for people who understand the context of what is being portrayed. This film is now one of my favorite WWII movies. Alongside: Max Manus Man of War (2008), Twin Sisters (2002) and Flame and Citron (2008). I am happy to have watched it, but also saddened even a day later after viewing, at the inhumanity of man and how easily and exceptionally cruel we can be. Reflective thought on history is something that is often lost in our modern, politically correct, sanitized capitalist Western 'democracy'. Everyone who would like to, should watch this film. It's that good.

ナチス政権下で、ドイツ軍人の父親を持つ少年が強制収容所に入れられているユダヤ人少年と友情を育んだが故の悲劇を描く。 8歳の少年は家族でベルリンから地方の田舎に引っ越した。 表向きは父親の仕事での出世だった。だが、ナチスの軍人である父親の職務とはユダヤ人の管理だった。 まだ子供の主人公は父親が何をしているのか理解できない。 そんな中で、自宅近くの強制収容所に囚われている同い年のユダヤ人少年と仲良くなる。 鉄条網に隔てられている中で意気投合する幼い二人。だが、傍では世にもおぞましい行為が平然と行われている。 周りの大人たちはそれを主人公には隠そうとする。傍から見れば「不自然極まりない少年への説明」も、少年は無垢故に 洞察することが出来ない。 何故ユダヤ人であると囚われなければならないのか？少年には終始理解不能であった。 友情故に「ユダヤ人少年の父親」を探す手伝いをする。囚人服に着替えて強制収容所内部に潜入した「ちびっ子探検家」が目にするものは 虐待されるユダヤ人の姿だった。 父親探しを依頼したユダヤ人少年に他意はなく、主人公もまた親切心から出た行動だった。 主人公の父親が指揮した犯罪行為が「自身の家族に跳ね返ったこと」を神罰という説明で済ませられるか？ この後の展開は「両親の離婚・一家の離散」へと繋がることが予想される。 それでも回りだした歯車が止まることは決してなかっただろう。