Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Director: Mark Herman
Based on a Novel by: John Boyne
ISBN: 0-7888-8402-6
Rating: PG-13
Suitable for Ages: Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13
Production Company: Miramax Films
Media Type: DVD
Copyright: 2009
Genre: Drama
Reader's Annotation: Bruno just wants to make some new friends. So, why can’t he play with the boy in the striped pajamas?
Plot Summary: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is about a young boy named Bruno and his family. Bruno’s dad is a high ranking German solider who relocates his family from the city of Berlin to the German countryside during Work War II. Shortly after the move, the viewer realizes that Bruno’s dad moved his family in order to be near to a concentration camp. The camp is Bruno’s point of fascination throughout the movie as Bruno is in search of new friends. Bruno is only eight years old, however, and believes that the concentration camp is a farm. Bruno ends up making friends with Shmuel, an eight year old Jewish boy trapped inside the walls of the barbed wire fence. In an effort to help Shmuel find his father, Bruno digs a hole under the fence and joins Shmuel on the other side much to the horror of his family.
Evaluation: (B) This movie reminds me of Thomas Paine’s quote, “he that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition: for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” While Bruno’s dad was able to justify the mistreatment of the Jewish people in the concentration camp, perhaps he was able to see the inhumanity after Bruno’s expedition to the other side. Although not as emotionally charged as Schindler’s List or the Diary of Anne Frank until the end, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is sad and has a surprising outcome. I recommend seeing this movie and believe that it would be a good supplement to any lesson plan on the holocaust.
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