The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Based on the novel by John Boyne, THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS is a wrenching Holocaust story about a young German boy and his forbidden friendship with a Jewish child.

Bruno is living a charmed life in Berlin as the son of a high-ranking Nazi soldier, when his father is suddenly transferred to a job out in the country. Bruno, as well as his sister Gretel and mother must all join him at his new post. Bruno is lonely and confused by his new surroundings, and he doesn't understand why he can't wander the grounds or play at a nearby farm.

The "farm," of course, is a concentration camp, though Bruno doesn't know this. He soon sneaks away to explore, and meets Shmuel a prisoner of the camp and befriends him. After witnessing brutal violence perpetrated against some very kind people, he has begun to question these Nazi beliefs as Bruno is no longer sure what to make of his soldier father, whom he once believed to be a hero.

I watched this with Jess on Saturday night and we both agree that it’s a movie well worth seeing, but probably not on a first date!

As I watched it, it struck me at they way that even the most educated people can swallow lies and deceit if it is well packaged - even to the extent that they will co-operate in the attempted extermination of an entire race of people.

I'm still in the process of thinking things through on this movie. If you've seen it & want to discuss, feel free to share here. If you haven't, go and see it - it is worth it!