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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film)
Encyclopedia
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 historical-drama film based on the novel of the same name
by Irish writer John Boyne
. Directed by Mark Herman
and produced by David Heyman
, it stars Asa Butterfield
, Jack Scanlon
, David Thewlis
, Vera Farmiga
and Rupert Friend
.
A Holocaust drama, the film explores the horror of a World War II
extermination camp through the eyes of two eight-year-old boys; one the son of the camp's Nazi commandant, the other a Jewish inmate.
SS
officer Ralf (David Thewlis
) and his wife Elsa (Vera Farmiga
) move from Berlin
to the countryside with their children—twelve-year-old Gretel (Amber Beattie
) and eight-year-old Bruno (Asa Butterfield
)—after Ralf is promoted to commandant
of a Nazi concentration camp, implied to be Auschwitz
. Bruno is confined to the front grounds of their new home and craves companionship and adventure. He disobeys his parents by sneaking out and trekking through the woods to an isolated, unguarded corner of the concentration camp, which he initially believes to be a farm.
He befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon
), a boy his own age and returns frequently thereafter, bringing Shmuel food and playing games with him through the barbed wire fence. Shmuel gradually reveals to Bruno the truth of what is behind the fence, telling him that he and his family have been imprisoned, and forced to wear the "striped pyjamas," because they are Jews
, although Bruno does not understand the significance of this at first.
Bruno and Gretel soon get a tutor, Herr Liszt (Jim Norton
) who pushes an agenda of antisemitism and nationalist
propaganda
. Gretel becomes increasingly fanatical in her support for the Third Reich, covering her bedroom wall with Nazi propaganda posters and flirting with SS Lieutenant Kurt Kotler (Rupert Friend
), her father's subordinate, as her budding sexuality becomes fixated on the ideal of the German soldier. However, she still remains good natured and protective of her brother. Bruno remains skeptical, as all of the Jews Bruno knows, including the family's servant Pavel (David Hayman
), do not resemble Liszt's teachings. He witnesses acts of brutality (that conflict with the propaganda ideal of military heroism) when Pavel accidentally overturns Kotler's wine glass at the table, prompting the furious officer to insult and then beat Pavel to death.
After this incident, Shmuel is sent to the commandant's home to clean glasses. Bruno, unaware of the likely consequences, gives him some cake. When Kotler sees crumbs on Shmuel's lips, and accuses him of stealing, Shmuel tells the officer that Bruno is his friend, and Bruno gave him the cake. Frightened of Kotler, Bruno denies knowing Shmuel and claims that he was already eating the cake when he came in. Kotler informs Shmuel that they will "have a little chat about what happens to rats who steal." Bruno does not see Shmuel for several days, and when he eventually turns up at the fence, he has got a swollen black eye. However, he forgives Bruno and the two reaffirm their friendship.
Elsa disagrees with the antisemitic Nazi thinking but is too scared to voice her opinion, though she protested Kotler's cruel treatment of Pavel. When Kotler absentmindedly remarks on the stench from the crematoriums
, she realises that Ralf presides over an extermination camp and not a labour camp. She confronts Ralf about it and they decide that Elsa will take the children to Heidelberg
to stay with their aunt.
The day before Bruno is due to leave, Shmuel reveals that his father has gone missing in the camp. Seeing an ideal opportunity to redeem himself for wronging Shmuel previously, Bruno digs a hole beneath the fence, changes into prison clothing that Shmuel has stolen for him, and enters the camp to help Shmuel find his father. Bruno is horrified by what he sees: the dehumanization, starvation and sickness is the antithesis of the Theresienstadt
-esque propaganda film that had shaped his prior impressions. While searching for Shmuel's father, they get intertwined with a group of inmates being taken to the gas chambers
.
At the house Bruno's absence is noticed and Elsa bursts into Ralf's meeting, telling him that Bruno is missing. After Gretel and Elsa discover the open window Bruno went through, Ralf and his guards enter the camp searching for Bruno, while his wife and daughter follow shortly behind. In the gas chambers, the inmates—including Bruno and Shmuel—are told to remove their clothes, amidst speculation it is only for a shower. They are put into the gas chambers, where they take each others' hands. A soldier pours some Zyklon B
pellets into the chamber. The prisoners start yelling and banging on the metal door. Ralf, still with his guards, arrive at an evacuated dormitory, signalling to him that a gassing is taking place. Ralf cries out his son's name and Elsa and Gretel fall to their knees, screaming with sorrow and clutching Bruno's abandoned clothing.
. It has been released exclusively at iTunes
and Amazon.com
as a download
only. The track listing is as follows:
. James Christopher in The Times
referred to it as "a hugely affecting film. Important, too". Conversely, Manohla Dargis
of The New York Times
summed it up as "the Holocaust trivialized, glossed over, kitsched up, commercially exploited and hijacked for a tragedy about a Nazi family".
Some critics have called the very premise of the book and subsequent film—that there would be a child of Shmuel's age in the camp—an unacceptable fabrication. Reviewing the original book, Rabbi
Benjamin Blech
wrote: "Note to the reader: There were no eight-year-old Jewish boys in Auschwitz—the Nazis immediately gassed those not old enough to work." But, according to statistics from the Labour Assignment Office, Auschwitz-Birkenau contained 619 living male children from one month to fourteen years old on August 30, 1944. On January 14, 1945, 773 male children were registered as living at the camp. "The oldest children were fifteen, and fifty-two were less than eight years of age." "Some children were employed as camp messengers and were treated as a kind of curiosity, while every day an enormous number of children of all ages were killed in the gas chambers." However Roger Ebert proposes that the film is not even attempting to be a forensic reconstruction of Germany during the war, but "about a value system that survives like a virus."
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 novel from the point of view of an innocent young boy, written by Irish novelist John Boyne. Unlike the months of planning Boyne devoted to his other books, he said that he wrote the entire first draft of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in two and a half...
by Irish writer John Boyne
John Boyne
John Boyne is an Irish novelist.- Biography :He was educated at Terenure College, before heading to trinity college, dublin, and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he won the Curtis Brown prize. But it was during his time at Trinity that he began to get published...
. Directed by Mark Herman
Mark Herman
Mark Herman is an English film director and screenwriter best known for writing & directing the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas....
and produced by David Heyman
David Heyman
David Jonathan Heyman is a British film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. He obtained the film rights to the Harry Potter series in 1999 and has produced all eight installments in the series of films.-Life and career:...
, it stars Asa Butterfield
Asa Butterfield
Asa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
, Jack Scanlon
Jack Scanlon
Jack Scanlon is an English child actor who played one of the lead roles in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ....
, David Thewlis
David Thewlis
David Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
, Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
and Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
.
A Holocaust drama, the film explores the horror of a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
extermination camp through the eyes of two eight-year-old boys; one the son of the camp's Nazi commandant, the other a Jewish inmate.
Plot
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
officer Ralf (David Thewlis
David Thewlis
David Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
) and his wife Elsa (Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
) move from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to the countryside with their children—twelve-year-old Gretel (Amber Beattie
Amber Beattie
Amber Louisa Oatley Beattie is an English actress and singer, who is known for her role as Lulu Baker in Jinx.-Personal life:...
) and eight-year-old Bruno (Asa Butterfield
Asa Butterfield
Asa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
)—after Ralf is promoted to commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
of a Nazi concentration camp, implied to be Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. Bruno is confined to the front grounds of their new home and craves companionship and adventure. He disobeys his parents by sneaking out and trekking through the woods to an isolated, unguarded corner of the concentration camp, which he initially believes to be a farm.
He befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon
Jack Scanlon
Jack Scanlon is an English child actor who played one of the lead roles in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ....
), a boy his own age and returns frequently thereafter, bringing Shmuel food and playing games with him through the barbed wire fence. Shmuel gradually reveals to Bruno the truth of what is behind the fence, telling him that he and his family have been imprisoned, and forced to wear the "striped pyjamas," because they are Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, although Bruno does not understand the significance of this at first.
Bruno and Gretel soon get a tutor, Herr Liszt (Jim Norton
Jim Norton (actor)
Jim Norton is an Irish character actor.-Performances:Jim Norton has been acting for over forty years in theatre, television, and movies, and frequently plays clergymen, most notably Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted, as well as in The Sweeney , Peak Practice , Sunset Heights , A Love Divided...
) who pushes an agenda of antisemitism and nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
. Gretel becomes increasingly fanatical in her support for the Third Reich, covering her bedroom wall with Nazi propaganda posters and flirting with SS Lieutenant Kurt Kotler (Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
), her father's subordinate, as her budding sexuality becomes fixated on the ideal of the German soldier. However, she still remains good natured and protective of her brother. Bruno remains skeptical, as all of the Jews Bruno knows, including the family's servant Pavel (David Hayman
David Hayman
David Hayman is a Scottish film and television actor and director, best known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama Trial and Retribution. He also a prominent supporter of the SNP's call for Scottish independence....
), do not resemble Liszt's teachings. He witnesses acts of brutality (that conflict with the propaganda ideal of military heroism) when Pavel accidentally overturns Kotler's wine glass at the table, prompting the furious officer to insult and then beat Pavel to death.
After this incident, Shmuel is sent to the commandant's home to clean glasses. Bruno, unaware of the likely consequences, gives him some cake. When Kotler sees crumbs on Shmuel's lips, and accuses him of stealing, Shmuel tells the officer that Bruno is his friend, and Bruno gave him the cake. Frightened of Kotler, Bruno denies knowing Shmuel and claims that he was already eating the cake when he came in. Kotler informs Shmuel that they will "have a little chat about what happens to rats who steal." Bruno does not see Shmuel for several days, and when he eventually turns up at the fence, he has got a swollen black eye. However, he forgives Bruno and the two reaffirm their friendship.
Elsa disagrees with the antisemitic Nazi thinking but is too scared to voice her opinion, though she protested Kotler's cruel treatment of Pavel. When Kotler absentmindedly remarks on the stench from the crematoriums
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
, she realises that Ralf presides over an extermination camp and not a labour camp. She confronts Ralf about it and they decide that Elsa will take the children to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
to stay with their aunt.
The day before Bruno is due to leave, Shmuel reveals that his father has gone missing in the camp. Seeing an ideal opportunity to redeem himself for wronging Shmuel previously, Bruno digs a hole beneath the fence, changes into prison clothing that Shmuel has stolen for him, and enters the camp to help Shmuel find his father. Bruno is horrified by what he sees: the dehumanization, starvation and sickness is the antithesis of the Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt (film)
Theresienstadt. Ein Dokumentarfilm aus dem jüdischen Siedlungsgebiet was a black and white projected Nazi propaganda film shot in the concentration camp of Theresienstadt....
-esque propaganda film that had shaped his prior impressions. While searching for Shmuel's father, they get intertwined with a group of inmates being taken to the gas chambers
Gas Chambers
Gas Chambers is a fast, hollow and shallow point break type of wave. Being that it is a high performance wave it is well suited for the average to pro level surfer. Gas Chambers is located on the North Shore of Oahu about a 1/4 of a mile north of Ehukai Beach Park and 1/2 a mile west of Sunset...
.
At the house Bruno's absence is noticed and Elsa bursts into Ralf's meeting, telling him that Bruno is missing. After Gretel and Elsa discover the open window Bruno went through, Ralf and his guards enter the camp searching for Bruno, while his wife and daughter follow shortly behind. In the gas chambers, the inmates—including Bruno and Shmuel—are told to remove their clothes, amidst speculation it is only for a shower. They are put into the gas chambers, where they take each others' hands. A soldier pours some Zyklon B
Zyklon B
Zyklon B was the trade name of a cyanide-based pesticide infamous for its use by Nazi Germany to kill human beings in gas chambers of extermination camps during the Holocaust. The "B" designation indicates one of two types of Zyklon...
pellets into the chamber. The prisoners start yelling and banging on the metal door. Ralf, still with his guards, arrive at an evacuated dormitory, signalling to him that a gassing is taking place. Ralf cries out his son's name and Elsa and Gretel fall to their knees, screaming with sorrow and clutching Bruno's abandoned clothing.
Cast
- Asa ButterfieldAsa ButterfieldAsa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
as Bruno - Jack ScanlonJack ScanlonJack Scanlon is an English child actor who played one of the lead roles in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ....
as Shmuel - Vera FarmigaVera FarmigaVera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
as Elsa (Mother) - David ThewlisDavid ThewlisDavid Thewlis is an English actor of stage and screen. His most commercially successful role to date has been that of Remus Lupin, in the Harry Potter film series...
as Ralf (Father) - David HaymanDavid HaymanDavid Hayman is a Scottish film and television actor and director, best known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama Trial and Retribution. He also a prominent supporter of the SNP's call for Scottish independence....
as Pavel - Rupert FriendRupert FriendRupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
as Lieutenant Kotler - Jim Norton as Herr Liszt
- Amber BeattieAmber BeattieAmber Louisa Oatley Beattie is an English actress and singer, who is known for her role as Lulu Baker in Jinx.-Personal life:...
as Gretel - Sheila HancockSheila HancockSheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
as Grandma - Richard JohnsonRichard Johnson (actor)Richard Johnson is an English actor, writer and producer, who starred in several British films of the 1960s and has also had a distinguished stage career. He most recently appeared in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.-Life and career:...
as Grandpa - Cara HorganCara HorganCara Horgan is an English actress.She was born in the South East of England. Horgan trained at Drama Centre London and has worked in TV, film and theatre....
as Maria
Soundtrack
The score for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was composed by James HornerJames Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
. It has been released exclusively at iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
and Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
as a download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
only. The track listing is as follows:
- "Boys Playing Airplanes" – 4:13
- "Exploring the Forest" – 2:36
- "The Train Ride to a New Home" – 3:34
- "The Winds Gently Blow Through the Garden" – 5:57
- "An Odd Discovery Beyond the Trees" – 2:51
- "Dolls Aren't for Big Girls, Propaganda is..." – 3:43
- "Black Smoke" – 1:43
- "Evening Supper – A Family Slowly Crumbles" – 7:53
- "The Funeral" – 1:54
- "The Boys' Plans, From Night to Day" – 2:36
- "Strange New Clothes" – 9:53
- "Remembrance, Remembrance" – 5:31
Reception
The film has a 64% with a 6.2/10 average rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. James Christopher in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
referred to it as "a hugely affecting film. Important, too". Conversely, Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
summed it up as "the Holocaust trivialized, glossed over, kitsched up, commercially exploited and hijacked for a tragedy about a Nazi family".
Some critics have called the very premise of the book and subsequent film—that there would be a child of Shmuel's age in the camp—an unacceptable fabrication. Reviewing the original book, Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Benjamin Blech
Benjamin Blech
Benjamin Blech, born in Zurich in 1933, is an Orthodox rabbi who now lives in New York City.Rabbi Blech has been a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University since 1966, and was the Rabbi of Young Israel of Oceanside for 37 years. In addition to his work in the rabbinate, Rabbi Blech is a prolific...
wrote: "Note to the reader: There were no eight-year-old Jewish boys in Auschwitz—the Nazis immediately gassed those not old enough to work." But, according to statistics from the Labour Assignment Office, Auschwitz-Birkenau contained 619 living male children from one month to fourteen years old on August 30, 1944. On January 14, 1945, 773 male children were registered as living at the camp. "The oldest children were fifteen, and fifty-two were less than eight years of age." "Some children were employed as camp messengers and were treated as a kind of curiosity, while every day an enormous number of children of all ages were killed in the gas chambers." However Roger Ebert proposes that the film is not even attempting to be a forensic reconstruction of Germany during the war, but "about a value system that survives like a virus."
Accolades
- British Independent Film Award:
- Best Actress - Vera FarmigaVera FarmigaVera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
- Best Actress - Vera Farmiga
- Chicago International Film FestivalChicago International Film FestivalThe Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
- Audience Choice Award - Mark HermanMark HermanMark Herman is an English film director and screenwriter best known for writing & directing the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas....
- Audience Choice Award - Mark Herman
- British Independent Film Award:
- Best Director - Mark HermanMark HermanMark Herman is an English film director and screenwriter best known for writing & directing the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas....
- Most Promising Newcomer - Asa ButterfieldAsa ButterfieldAsa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
- Best Director - Mark Herman
- Premio Goya:
- Best European Film