The Boy in Striped Pajamas (2008)

Disclaimer: Photos found in this post are screenshots of scenes from the movie, The Boy in Striped Pajamas (2008)

The Boy in Striped Pajamas is a movie based on a novel by John Boyne. It's about a German boy, Bruno, the eight-year-old son of Ralf, the newly promoted Herr Kommandant, and his new found friend, Schmuel, an eight-year-old Jew detained in a nearby concentration camp to which Burno's father was assigned.

The movie had really great cinematography. It's gray hues and blueish undertones set a really gloomy mood fit for the World War era. The script provided better understanding of what was going on. Multiple scenes were set at angles that emphasized a huge difference between the lives of the two boys i.e. scenes of Bruno looking through house windows and scenes of Schmuel behind an electric fence. Their difference in their circumstances are greatly shown in scenes where Schmuel looks through the electric fence and is seated on dry barren land within the labor camp while Bruno is free on the other side.

I love how the movie depicts innocence of a child. In the movie, Bruno asks a lot of questions especially to Herr Liszt, their home tutor. Having made friends with Schmaul, Bruno cannot fathom how all Jews were considered as evil vermin as what was taught to him by the tutor. He is convinced that not all Jews are bad because of his Jewish friend, Schmaul who is a detainee in the nearby labor camp, and their Jewish house servant, Pavel, who once practiced as a doctor before being detained and made to serve the Herr Kommandant's family by peeling potatoes.

Aside from Bruno's innocence, there were a few characters with different beliefs worth taking note of. We have (1) Natalie, Bruno's grandmother who was against the propaganda, (2) Elsa, Bruno's mother who was patriotic to their country but against mass murder of innocent Jews; I love her because despite what the norm was of their society back then, she had compassion for the innocent. She believed that Germany can attain greatness without burning the Jews, and; (3) Gretel, Bruno's sister who was brainwashed by Herr Liszt into believing in the propaganda; she threw her dolls away to make room for more serious stuff like putting posters of Nazism up on her bedroom wall.

I really like the variations characters had with their personality and stand on the German Nazi propaganda.

I must say, I was really moved by this character (Pavel). Despite being captured, detained, and maltreated, he maintains compassion for the young boy. He remains kind to him and kept Bruno's innocence by not telling the truth to what really happened to him.

In the end, there's a huge consequence to Bruno's innocence as he sneaks inside the camp to help Schmuel find his father.