The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
I think I was in high school when I first realized there was a new book about the Holocaust that was quickly capturing a lot of attention and had just as much buzz surrounding it. Now it’s been at least three years since the movie was made, which means I’ve had plenty of time to get myself to a library or book store and pick up the book. The truth is that I’ve just been lazy and now I’m watching another movie before I’ve read the book.
After having watched the movie:
(Possible spoilers below)
I knew what I was getting with this movie, I knew there was no way it could have ended well but I never expected the little German boy to be locked in a gas chamber with so many Jews and killed. I might end up stepping on a few toes, but the Dad kind of had it coming. He doesn’t think twice about sending another persons son into a gas chamber or force them to live under such harsh conditions because of a minor difference in religious views.
For those of you who get excited about bonus features and commentaries, I would strongly suggest that you take some time and listen to the commentary on the movie. Personally, the commentary gave the movie and story a little more value once I had watched it.
One of my favorite things to do when working on a movie is to continue to keep themes and subtle images throughout. As a Script Supervisor, I may even try to suggest other opportunities to continue themes that have perhaps gone unnoticed. Now when I sit down and critically watch a movie, I like to think I pick up on a fair share of these themes, but for the majority of the 365 Movie Challenge I’ve watched these movies from a non-critical point of view. Honestly, after a while it starts to take away from the experience of watching the movie for the first time. This time the themes when unnoticed, there are bars and gray tones throughout the movie.
Final thoughts: I thought this story was refreshing. It wasn’t a first hand account of life and death within the Nazi Concentration Camps, because we’ve seen and heard those before. Instead it was a story about a boy who was just old enough to understand serious consequences but not old enough to really understand what was going on at the ‘farm’ he saw from just outside his bedroom window. It would be a child who fails to understand why being Jewish in a WWII era Germany is such a horrible crime and unknowingly best friends the shit out of a Jewish boy who lives on the ‘farm.’
And for those who are interested, here's the link to the book on Amazon.
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Next up: Rear Window
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