THE BOY IN STRIPED PYJAMAS (REVIEW)
If
you're looking for a date movie for a fun night out, may I advise you choose another
film because as good as 'The Boy in Striped Pyjamas' is, there is grief, followed
by tears.
Based on a novel by Irish author John Boyne, the
film rights were snapped up upon its release - ironically by the Disney Company.
Moved into an isolated house in the middle of nowhere, eight year old Bruno feels
imprisoned by his mother's warnings never to venture beyond the garden's high
walls. Being a child who feels the need to explore, he demands to know why. Bruno
is however captivated by the view from his bedroom window - an obscure 'farm',
he thinks! It's an active place where workers seem to have jumped straight out
of bed to do their duties in their pyjamas.
Bruno's curiosity
takes him through a door leading down to a huge barbed wire fence where a young
Jewish boy of the exact same age sits all alone with a completely opposite story
to tell. His name is Shmuel and a bizarre friendship is formed. Bruno struggles
to comprehend the situation and attempts to ask his parents.
His
Father Ralf is the buttoned up Nazi commandant whose polished uniform only masks
a dishelmed cigarette smoking wreck. Father of the year he is not. Bruno's mother
Elsa and daughter Gretel have their life unravelling in horror when discovering
their father's atrocities.
To say anymore would not be fair.
The startling consequences of the forbidden friendship left the audience in an
eerie silence during the end credits. 'Schindlers List' and 'The Piano' are two
holocaust movies you can only watch once because they were so good in setting
up the horrors involved - add this one to the list.
The remarkable
talent in young Asa Butterfield as Bruno performs beyond his years. His eyes glow
with discontent in horrific circumstances. All is forgiven of David Thewlis for
appearing in 'Basic Instinct 2'. As the jittery father, he is brilliant - consumed
in his duties but always seems to be in two minds.
Verna Farminga,
so good in a small role in 'The Departed', is also impressive in a much more substantial
role of the shocked mother. Topping off all this grief is the pounding heartbreak
in the unforgettable score of legendary composer James Horner. His music is a
perfect accompaniment to what's on screen.
A haunting movie
through innocent eyes. Don't miss it but be prepared!
Shane
A. Bassett
