The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Set during WWII, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.

Director:

Mark Herman

Writers:

John Boyne (novel), Mark Herman (screenplay)

Stars:

Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend

7 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Asa Butterfield	...	Bruno
Zac Mattoon O'Brien	...	Leon (as Zac Mattoon-O'Brien)
Domonkos Németh	...	Martin
Henry Kingsmill	...	Karl
Vera Farmiga	...	Mother
Cara Horgan	...	Maria
Zsuzsa Holl	...	Berlin Cook
Amber Beattie	...	Gretel
László Áron	...	Lars
David Thewlis	...	Father
Richard Johnson	...	Grandpa
Sheila Hancock	...	Grandma
Charlie Baker	...	Palm Court Singer
Iván Verebély	...	Meinberg
Béla Fesztbaum	...	Schultz

Storyline

Young Bruno lives a wealthy lifestyle in prewar Germany along with his mother, elder sister, and SS Commandant father. The family relocates to the countryside where his father is assigned to take command a prison camp. A few days later, Bruno befriends another youth, strangely dressed in striped pajamas, named Shmuel who lives behind an electrified fence. Bruno will soon find out that he is not permitted to befriend his new friend as he is a Jew, and that the neighboring yard is actually a prison camp for Jews awaiting extermination. Shmuel papa disappears and Shmule bring back a striped pajamas. Bruno puts them on and they both go look for Shmuel papa

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Plot Keywords:

jew | boy | nazis | poison gas | fence | 

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Taglines:

Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us...

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic material involving the Holocaust

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Films [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£513,653 (United Kingdom), 14 September 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$253,085, 9 November 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$9,030,581, 18 January 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax,BBC Films,Heyday Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were no working children in Auschwitz. They were all executed on arrival. Only those in teenage years who could work were allowed to live in forced labour.

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Goofs

At the farewell party in Berlin at the beginning of the film, the singer with the dance band was using a Shure 55SH, an iconic American microphone. However the Germans would have used Sennheiser or Neumann microphones. They were very proud of their engineering, and pioneered early audio recording technology which is still sought after by collectors and studios.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mother: Hello, sweetheart.
Bruno: Mum, what's going on?
Mother: We're celebrating.
Bruno: Celebrating?
Mother: Mm, your father's been given a promotion.
Gretel: That means a better job.
Bruno: I know what promotion is.
Mother: So we're having a little party to celebrate.
Bruno: He's still going to be a soldier though, isn't he?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Quotation displayed before the opening titles: "Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows - John Betjeman"

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Connections

Referenced in Friendship Beyond the Fence (2009)

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Soundtracks

Stomping At The Ritz
Written by Alan Moorhouse
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

All things truly wicked start from an innocence-Ernest Hemingway

I was so excited my theater got The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, from the moment I saw this trailer, I knew I was in for a treat. This movie just looked incredible, even though it's a touchy subject with the holocaust, it still looked like it was going to be a great story. Everyone always makes a comment about the innocence of childhood, what it was like to just not have reason, to just go with the flow of things before adults tell you what you have to do. So I watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas today and this movie seriously is one of the saddest films I have ever seen, but I felt it was very maturely handled. The actors are great and the story is very touching, to watch these two boys from two completely different worlds who come together just to have fun, be boys, not because of the difference of their background.

Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence. The boys have a great friendship talking every day, enjoying the company. But when the father gives Bruno a Nazi propaganda loving tutor, Bruno becomes confused, is his father an evil man or is his friend the evil one? Love his country and do his duty or don't judge and just stay true to his friend? Bruno must decide all this with some scary consequences ahead of him.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a fantastic film, though if you see it, I do recommend bringing the tissues. I couldn't believe the chemistry they had with these two young actors, they worked so well together as these innocent boys who both have no idea what's going on. Bruno doesn't know why his friend is behind fences, and his friend doesn't know why he's there either. The ending is extremely powerful and the story keeps you interested. I do recommend seeing The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, it's a treasure from 2008.

9/10