| Asa Butterfield | Bruno |
| Jack Scanlon | Shmuel |
| Amber Beattie | Gretel |
| David Thewlis | Bruno's father |
| Vera Farmiga | Elsa, Bruno's mother |
| Richard Johnson | Grandpa |
| Richard Johnson | Grandpa |
| Sheila Hancock | Grandma |
| Rupert Friend | Lieutenant Kotler |
| David Hayman | Pavel |
| Jim Norton | Herr Liszt |
| Cara Horgan | maria |
| Mark Herman | Director, Executive Producer, Screenwriter |
| Rosie Alison | Co-producer |
| John Casali | Sound/Sound Designer |
| Martin Childs | Production Designer |
| Leo Davis | Casting |
| Benoit Delhomme | Cinematographer |
| Michael Ellis | Editor |
| Rodney Glenn | Sound/Sound Designer |
| Pipia Hall | Casting |
| David Heyman | Producer |
| James Horner | Score Composer |
| Christine Langan | Executive Producer |
| Peter Miskolczi | Co-producer |
| Gábor Váradi | Co-producer |
| Natalie Ward | Costumes/Costume Designer |
Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
an eye-opening perspective of the Holocaust thru children's eyes. You will walk away with your heart and soul saddened, yet touched through this compelling presentation.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
such beauty and creativity in filming...the two boys are wonderful...the story is haunting..and the ending ....well, it's not what you want. great movie.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Our family of four children, my husband and myself, watched this movie as a family. We knew it would not be entertaining like a comedy, but we wanted to see none-the-less. We are very interested in the Holecaust and found this to be an interesting movie since it was filmed from a child's point of view. We all felt it was a well directed and produced movie that holds many truths and characteristics still seen in today's society. We must never let an autrocity like this happen again. Also, we found a common bond with the boys, that through the eyes of youth, there is no discrimination of race, religion, or creed, this was just two little boys who wanted and needed a friend.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This movie is very sad and heartbreaking. It really depicts the bond between a German boy who is the son of a Nazi officer (Bruno) and a Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the fence (Shmuel). In the end, I found this movie to very captivating and uplifting...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kinger-From-Bako
Posted October 1, 2010
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When I sat down to watch this movie, I figured I'd be watching a movie about two boys (from seperate worlds) who meet, form a friendship, and end up symbolizing what became after the war ended.
I suprised with where the story went and I think it showed great sacrifice that was made during this time period.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS is a 'compleat' motion picture: even the title states the vision of the film in a subtly powerful way. Based on the excellent novel by John Boyne and adapted for the screen by director Mark Herman, this film has the courage to re-visit the Holocaust from the child's perspective. Not that it covers up the atrocities of that horrid event and time - quite the opposite: in electing to examine that period in history the stance is that of two children, one German son of an officer in Hitler's armed forces and one son of a Jewish captive living with his father in a concentration camp. The juxtaposition of these two eight year old boys separated not only by a fence but by an ideology neither of them can fathom the other's side makes for not only a brilliant film but also an unforgettable emotional experience.
Bruno (Asa Butterfield in an extraordinary performance) is eight, his sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) is twelve and the two live with their parents in 1940 Berlin - father (David Thewlis) is a Komandant in Hitler's army and mother (Vera Farminga) is a popular socialite and loving mother. Father is 'promoted' and will be in charge of a new 'position' that means moving from their beautiful Berlin home to a 'home in the country'. Though Bruno doesn't want to leave his friends the family does indeed move - to a cold house next to what Bruno perceives is a farm. The father is forbidden to share his role and the meaning of it with his family, but it soon becomes obvious by the smoke stacks spewing hideously smelling odors into the atmosphere that the 'farm' is a concentration camp. The house servant Pavel (David Hayman), though abused by the father, becomes Bruno's friend when Bruno sustains an injury: Pavel quietly admits to Bruno that despite his 'pajama' uniform from the 'farm' that he practiced medicine in the past. Bored, Bruno explores the forbidden area outside his home confines and finds a barbed wire electrified fence behind which sits Shmuel (Jack Scanlon) who becomes Bruno's friend. Neither lad understands the differences between them until Shmuel is sent into Bruno's household to polish glasses for a party: the armed forces chauffeur Lieutenant Kotler (Rupert Friend) beats the 'little filthy Jew' for eating pastries Bruno has shared with him - a fact that the terrified Bruno denies.
The mother discovers the truth about the 'farm' and the smoke stacks and sinks into a depression, loathing that her husband is in charge of such atrocities. Gretel becomes transformed as a Hitler youth under the influence of the children's tutor (Jim Norton) and there are obvious philosophical schisms in the family. Bruno, regretting his treatment of Shmuel, continues to sneak food to him and plans to help his young friend save Shmuel's father: Bruno digs into the 'farm' and the results bring the film to a terrifying and abrupt end.
Both young actors give enormously moving performances and the manner in which Herman directs the action underlines the blur of perception many German's had about the reality of the Final Solution. But for what this viewer perceives as the reason the film sustains the powerful message it does is the manner in which it ends. There are no attempts to 'sanitize' this film: it simply ends with a lightning bolt jolt that is one of the most powerful statements in all of ththe many films about the Holocaust. It is simply a brilliant masterpiece of a movie from every aspect of judging it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
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Wow the book itself was very sad, but the movie just changed the way I thought about the whole plot line. It was so great, I went on my birthday but it wasn't playing anywhere near where I live, so we drove all the way to New Jersey to see it. It was truly worth it.The whole movie was inspiring but those last scenes where so moving that I instantly wanted to watch it again. I highly recommend this movie and the book, both are wonderful!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.joemama_23
Posted February 15, 2013
Wonderful Novel, You Can’t Miss It, It’s Really Heart Breaking
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas It’s a very touching novel. An eight year old German named Bruno becomes friends with a Jewish concentration camp prisoner in World War 2. But Bruno has to be very careful with him visiting the prisoner because his dad It’s a high rank commander of the Nazi. Bruno it’s just like any other little boy that likes to play with friends and toys. He feels like his not going to find new friends when him and his family move in to the new house but at the end he ends up finding a special friend. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas It’s a very great book to read to have an idea how cruel the Germans lived and treated the Jews back in World War 2. As you start reading the book it might be a bit boring but trust me once you get around the fourth chapter your not going to want stop reading not even for a second. Your going to start caring so much for Bruno that your going to be worrying about him, hoping he gets in no type of troubles. I believe the message of the author was to let people know that no matter what raise you are, you shouldn’t be treated any different.
Anonymous
Posted February 15, 2012
The boy in the striped pajamas is a touching movie about friendship and courage. This story is set in the 19040's during World War 2. Hitler has placed all Jews in concentration camps, including Auschwitz. When Bruno's father ( A German), mother, sister. and him move to a place called Out-With ( Which turns out to be Auschwitz), he ignores his mother and wanders into the woods were he finds a fence,its one of the concentration camps were Bruno finds a friend named Leon. Soon Bruno finds about the camp and the Jews, and how his father is really the bad guy. When Leon tells Bruno about his father's gone missing, Bruno makes a plan to put on some striped pajamas and seeks under the fence to help find Leon's father. When they enter the adult men's cabin they are shoved into the crowed and are promised a shower. The boys both go into the room with the other men, but instead of getting a shower. The Germans pore in gas and kill them all including Bruno and Leon. This movie is very sad but very good. Hope you watch it and read the book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.One theme in this book is that anybody can become friends even if you are different. When reading this book, Bruno, a nine year old boy, encounters a few problems. His father is forcing them to move. Bruno won¿t be able to see his best friends ever again. Later on, at this place he calls Out-With he goes exploring and finds another boy, his age. Shmuel, was his name, and they became friends. But Shmuel was a little different than Bruno. Shmuel wore striped pajamas and his head was shaved. He lived on the other side of the fence. Another theme in this book is innocence. Both boys don¿t know what is really happening at the camp and in Germany. Their innocence allows them to become friends. They are just boys that don¿t understand what really goes on at the camps like Auschwitz. The themes in this book are things you should always remember.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 28, 2011
I loved it.It was the best.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This has got to be one of the best movies I've ever seen. For me, this was not only an exceptional film involving the Holocaust and World War II, but an incredibly moving and emotional tale of a friendship that developed that knew no prejudice or intolerance. Those involved in the the creation and operation of concentration camps often had housing for themselves and their family close by. How haunting to have your family living in close proximity to where so much torture and death was being carried out. Karma can be cruel and this is played out in a chilling fashion. I do NOT want to include any information that could serve as a spoiler, so I ask you trust that the film will not disappoint. This was film on the scale of "Schindler's List" in terms of the impact of the story and the connection of the characters with the audience. The film will stick with you long after the credits have stopped rolling. A five star must see recommendation.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This amazing movie depicts the horrible events of the Holocaust through the eyes of a child. It offers a rare perspective and forces the viewer to consider a different point-of-view not often examined. The innocence of those persecuted during this event is clearly seen through the language and purity of the two children. The violence happens off camera and is merely implied based upon background knowledge. Because of that, it is an acceptable movie for younger audiences or for teachers hoping to incorporate it into the classroom.
I recommend this movie, because it is one that will open your mind and cause your jaw to drop.
RUSSIAN_WOLF
Posted October 1, 2010
I wonder how many Nazis followed orders, but were sick to see the results of these orders... Though this movie was very sad, the irony of a man experiencing a life for a life must have been an awakening moment for him... The Jewish boy and the German boy were friends... They had no wall of prejudice between them...
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
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This movie was absoultely breath taking. The movie itself was absoultely a masterpiece. I love bruno and shumel. I can't believe something so horribe happened in history. I hope these kinds of fenses are knocked down. Great movie, emotional on last part.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.JanieAslan
Posted October 1, 2010
For anyone who is interested in the events of Wordl War II, this film is excellent. Since the entire world is aware of what happened to the millions of people taken to Nazi concentration camps, Jews and others alike, this film reveals a miraculous friendship between a Jewish boy in the camp and a German boy whose father is a Nazi in charge of the concentration camp. One young boy taken simply because he was Jewish, the other young boy in an unfamiliar setting and dealing with lonliness. As in many stories, this one, once again, deals with those things that make up true friendship; it is well presented, well acted, and a film that is not easily forgotten. it is thought provoking and meaningful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ClaudiaAZ
Posted October 1, 2010
I don't even know where to begin on this one. It is the world of good vs. evil. It is also the reality of relationships, family secrets and the consequences of both.
I would highly recommend this movie for anyone 13 and over. It would be a good discussion for those who are studying history - WWII.
Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Thought it was long slow and drawn out. It did not represent the historical facts of the time.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is an extremely good movie. It somehow manages to be simultaneously beautiful and tragic, innocent and terrifying. Doing what no film has ever done before, it shows the Holocaust through the eyes of an innocent 8-year-old German boy. Though young Bruno may not understand the events unfolding around him, the viewer certainly will. While little or nothing is directly shown (making it an excellent means of introducing younger viewers to the history of the Holocaust), you have no trouble knowing what is happening. I loved the shooting style used in this film, as it successfully captures the innocent view of a child during one of the darkest periods in world history. This also serves to make it even more disturbing, though also more real, as you see Bruno attempt to make sense of what is going on in his world. Then, if all that wasn't enough, the whole film comes to a close with one of the hardest hitting endings ever done on film. My mother and I both were crying throughout, and were left off staring in wide-eyed terror. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone and everyone. It isn't a happy movie, but it's an important one. I now plan on reading the book as well.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
very touching story and realistic. Hard to stop thinking about.
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