The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: Underground Movie Review

One of our college professors once said that history’s importance is it gives us the ability to see our mistakes and to make sure never to do them again - and this is why we are staunch supporters of films depicting humanity's atrocities in the past. One such film that caught our eyes is “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”. A film based on the bestseller novel of the same name by John Boyne. Read on to find out if this film can hold true on its historical accuracy and significance.

The film is centered on a German family and their son named Bruno (Asa Butterfield). Bruno’s father Ralf (David Thewlis) has just been promoted to a new post in the countryside. This countryside location houses a Nazi concentration camp and Ralf is in fact the selected Nazi officer that will run it. When they move, Bruno sees “farmers” from a distance wearing striped pyjamas all day long - unknown to him that these are Jews. Out of curiosity, Bruno wanders around the woods to go near the “farmer’s village” even though he was forbidden by his parents. When he arrives at the village, he meets a boy named Shmuel (Jack Scanlon) and they start becoming the best of friends.

The film is surprisingly a very touching film. The story was really different from what we expected it to be. It kind of breaks the stereotypes we have of how people were during World War II especially the Germans. Most films would portray them as supporters of Hitler’s actions. But in this film, this was taken into a different light - not all are supporters of the atrocities that happened. The acting was gripping as well. Our favorite scene was at the dinner where Ralf was trying his best to hide the growing divide between him and his family. Some might be turned off though by the very slow pace and the ending that was kind of predictable. Quibbles aside, we can say that “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” will leave an indelible mark with you.

Rating: 4 and a half reels

Why you should watch it:
- a touching film with a nice story
- breaks the stereotypes we have of people during World War II and clearly shows that some may have wanted these atrocities to happen but some really did not believe in them

Why you shouldn’t watch it:
- the ending was a bit predictable
- some people will find the pacing a bit too slow and tipping close to boring

Do not forget that you can subscribe for FREE to our RSS Feed via Email

You can also follow us at our Twitter Account by clicking here

You can also add our site toolbar for FREE by clicking here