The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Our most recent theme discussed in class has been War, coming from the book Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I'm sure most of you readers out there have seen the most common war movies out there, considering nobody had any trouble choosing a movie....I chose The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas because it's a little less well known then most, and takes on a different aspect of the war.

The story takes place during World War II and is shown through the stories of two boys - a Jewish boy named Shmuel living at Auschwitz, and a Nazi Commandant's son named Bruno. Bruno's family moves to the countryside after his father is promoted to Commandant, and quickly befriends Shmuel because he was forced to leave his family behind. His father, Ralf, is very vague about what goes on at the "farm" behind their house where the Jews live, and even his wife is unaware that one of the most brutal concentration camps is literally in their backyard. They face a lot of problems in their friendship, especially since Bruno isn't supposed to be anywhere near the camp, but still brings Shmuel food and water when he can. When Shmuel's father goes "missing" in the camp, Bruno decides that it is a good opportunity to help Shmuel - to fix the wrongs done against him. They are instructed that they will be taking a shower with the others from Shmuel's dormitory. Bruno's abscense is noticed by his family, but don't make it in time for him to be saved from the gas chambers.

I personally think that this movie isn't glorifying war at all. It is doing the exact opposite. It gives the viewer an insight to life as it was in a concentration camp, and the tragedies that ALL families can face because of them. It doesn't have a lot in common with Slaughterhouse Five, but does remind me of Vonnegut's intro to the Children's Crusade. The filmmaker's goals with this movie were to definitely de-glorify the aspects of the war, especially WWII. The Nazi's were a very proud group of people, influenced by a very strong leader. This movie showed how a Nazi Commandant was a person too, and could suffer just like anybody else.

Mary O'Hare would definitely like this movie. In no way is it glorifying any aspect of war. It puts the ideas of WWII into a simple perspective - that of a child's.