Director: Mark Herman (Blame it on the Bellboy, Brassed Off, Hope Springs)
Novel: John Boyne
Screenplay: Mark Herman
Producer: David Heyman
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Cara Horgan
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 93
It seems that every year we get yet another story on the holocaust of 1940′s. And as implausible as it sounds, we usually get yet another great story told wonderfully and artfully from another small pocket of resistance, determination or desperation. With The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, we get something just a little bit different. Instead of spending time with victims or freedom fighters, we see the war persecution from the eyes of not just one child, but one from both sides of the conflict and how they perceive the world around them.
Eight year-old Bruno is the son of a high ranking Nazi Commander. When his family is forced to leave Berlin to the country side of Germany so that the father can continue his “important work”, Bruno is understandably reluctant and upset to leave everything he knows. Upon arriving at the new country side mansion, it doesn’t take long for Bruno to start exploring the grounds. What he finds beyond the forest in his own backyard is frightening and unimaginable: a little boy sits behind an electric fence; obviously the prisoner of a concentration camp. While the audience understands exactly what is going on, eight year old boys have no comprehension of what they’re seeing. Everyday at the same time the young Jewish boy is sitting just on the other side of the fence and unbeknownst to his parents, Bruno slips away to meet his new found friend day after day while simultaneously being taught that the Jews are subhuman and evil.
The film works fabulously well on several levels and then not so well on others. The tone of the movie actually seems to contradict itself at every turn. Rated PG-13 it’s hard to shock the audience with imagery that something like a Schindler’s List or The Pianist might give us, but it’s still a bit too strong for kids. Most of the time the director assumes the audience already knows and understands the mentality of the Nazi regime and what they stood for. Which is the correct way to go about telling the tale. At other times, it feels like there is blatant hand-holding going on and clichés that aren’t quite shocking, but there as if to just remind the audience that Nazis are bad guys and Jews are merely shattered souls, barely hanging on to an existence. Then again, at the same time, looking at some of these events through the eyes of a child, it is shocking and confusing. So there you have the essence of the film. It is definitely a story for adults, but one in which the adults should watch through the eyes of a child.
The unquestioning nature of the two boys is what is fascinating; albeit a bit frustrating. The rich kid can’t quite comprehend why there’s a boy on another side of an electric fence who can’t ever come out and play and looks like he hasn’t bathed in weeks and at the end of the day, he doesn’t really care. A few questioned are asked and answers are given honestly and bluntly, but the idea seems to be completely lost on the boy and is really just happy to have found a friend; even if they can barely make contact. Two and two are never really put together and what seems most important to the two is having an adventure or figuring out a game they can play with a ten foot fence between them. It is frustrating as adults watching, but simply just a new challenge for eight year-olds.
The film would almost surely have been better had it actually removed about 80% of all the screen time of the adults in the story and stuck with the perspective of the children. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas wants to give us a new perspective and something interesting to think about but constantly reverts back to the struggles of the parents and family; which are far less interesting.
While we know generally what happened and we’ve seen the propaganda leaflets and films designed for children, it’s nonetheless interesting to actually watch the “education” of German youth and see the indoctrination first hand. One can actually feel the confusion and questioning nature of the children (who are often a lot smarter than adults give them credit for) and at the same time be a bit appalled at the lessons and history we’re hearing being taught; knowing everything we know now. As the older sister seems more and more enamored by the third reich, the younger boy (our protagonist) seems more and more skeptical as his recent experiences tell him the exact opposite of what he’s being told by his family and teachers.
In the end, I can hand out a recommendation for the film. The masses (and possibly The Academy) will almost certainly love The Boy in the Striped Pajamas for its strong heart but still having a strange lack of edginess. The film doesn’t try to shock or awe us, it just needs to focus on its intent. Unfortunately it overlooks its intent for quite a lot of the running time and underneath the surface it feels like it really wants to deliver some heavy-handed punches but never does. All in all though, I’d have to say it’s a beautifully shot film and does cover some unexplored territory and does it quite well. Again though, it assumes the audience can transcend adulthood and revert to thinking like a child or at least be able to empathize. With that in mind, by the end it’s a particularly gut-busting movie and one that will leave the viewer with a lot to think about.
Links:
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I would love to see this film.
umm when is it comming out
“FUHRER”
How witty.