The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas centres on Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the eight-year-old son of a Commandant of a concentration camp. After ignoring his mother, Bruno sets off on an adventure in the woods and soon meets, and befriends, a young boy on the other side of the camp's fence. Unbeknown to Bruno or his family this forbidden friendship will come to have startling and unexpected consequences.

Overall Review Score

8 out of 10

Review

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 British drama based on the novel of the same name by John Boyne. While the film can easily be criticised for a slightly implausible plot, as it is hard to imagine two eight-year-old boys having a clandestine friendship in / around a concentration camp without anyone noticing, or that an eight-year-old boy could survive the harsh realities of camp life, it is a historical period drama that plays on the audience’s heartstrings. While it starts with a simple quote by John Betjeman, which suggests “Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows” it quickly picks up pace. As the first few minutes fade, the audience are led through a 90-minute, emotionally charged and sombre, script that sees Bruno (Asa Butterfield) struggle with his emotions as he tries to balance Nazi doctrine alongside his own personal beliefs to appease his father, his family / school tutor and his new friend. The entire main cast, including Asa Butterfield, Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis, put on strong performances and feed off each other to convey the films emotional undertones with ease. Although, Asa Butterfield’s performance is the most noteworthy as he effortlessly connects with the audience, as they witness his youthful innocence slowly decay as the realities of life in and around a concentration camp set in. Overall, despite the film’s historical inaccuracies and glorification of Nazi lifestyle through large lavish parties and trivialised propaganda videos, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a film worth watching. Director, Mark Herman has beautifully constructed an emotional, and original, drama that has a neutral fluidity and cumulates with one of the most shocking, sombre and equally tragic endings in cinematic history, which will stun the audience into momentary silence.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is an emotionally powerful film that combines the atrocities of the holocaust with childhood innocence. The fantastic acting by David Thewlis and Asa Butterfield help to capture the overall sombre mood, while managing to keep this from becoming too overbearing for audiences. Though I found the films ending a bit predictable, it still managed to stun The Reviewers into a few seconds of silence.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 8 out of 10

Comments:

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is an unusual film for many reasons. Its unique premise of illustrating the differing views of Nazi’s and Jew’s through the eyes of two different eight year old was very bold. Although, the film manages to pull it off. While the film is somewhat predictable and loses momentum on a couple of occasions, it still manages to effortlessly dazzle the audience with its raw emotion and powerful, heart wrenching ending. Asa Butterfield puts on a particularly spellbinding performance an eight-year-old son of a concentration camp Commandant and the films score helps capture the sombre, emotionally charged mood perfectly. Overall, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, despite a few flaws, is a film well worth watching.

#asabutterfield #davidthewlis #verafarmiga #drama