I have been on a bit of a World War 2 kick here lately and while I didn't watch this film recently, I did see it around the time it was released in 2008. It is a truly tragic tale of the horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps but told through the perspective and innocence of a child whose father is a high-ranking official in the Nazi party.
Bruno is a young German boy whose family is relocated as his father Ralf is promoted to a very high position in the SS. They are moved from Berlin to "the countryside" which as it turns out happens to be occupied Poland. Near their illustrious estate is what Bruno presumes is a farm, but it is actually a concentration and extermination camp that his father is in charge of overseeing.
Bruno is told to never wander to the "farm" but you know, him being a kid and all that is precisely what he ends up doing. Bruno is bored and has no friends here, so his wanderlust gets the best of him and eventually he gets to the "farm" and meets his only friend.
The two boys are mostly completely unaware of their predicament. Bruno especially doesn't seem to view the farm as the prison that it is. His new friend Shmuel doesn't seem terribly aware of the atrocities that are going on inside the camp either and although it isn't really explained it is presumed that perhaps the camp is taking it easy on children and hence Shmuel is not yet aware of the really horrible situation that he is in.
Anyway, i better shut up or I am going to spoil this film and I really think you should check it out.
Aside from the obvious historically important storytelling, this film also features wonderful performances by all, especially the two boys (Asa Butterfield as Bruno and Jack Scanlon as Shmuel.) I have always enjoyed the work of David Thewlis who plays Ralf, and feel he is one of the most under-appreciated actors today.
If you haven't seen this film, i sincerely think you should because I really didn't have any idea what it was about when i downloaded it years ago and i found it captivating and a very interesting and unusual method of telling a story that we are all familiar with already.
On a scale of "Urgh!" to "Wowsers!" I give The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas the overall score of......
