The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A Film

Production Information: Heyman, David (Producer) & Herman, Mark (Director). (2008). The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. DVD. USA: Miramax Films


Plot Summary: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a drama based during the Holocaust. The horrors of World War II Nazi extermination camps are captured through two boys. One boy, Bruno, is the son of a Nazi commandant. Bruno meets Shmel, an inmate of the extermination camp, when he "escapes" from his new home near the camp. They become friends and Bruno frequently visits Shmel through barbed wire fence and brings him food. Bruno betrays Shmel at his home when he lies to a Nazi soldier and tells the soldier that Shmel had stolen food when in fact Bruno had given it to Shmel. At the end of the film both boys die as they are searching for Shmel's father.


Critical Evaluation: This film is very powerful and thought provoking, yet so disturbing. The atrocities of the extermination camps during World War II, seen through the eyes of children, are horrible but very effective. The film does an excellent job of depicting Bruno's mother, Elsa, who in her heart knows the Nazis are bad but her husband is "one of them". I would recommend this film for a more "mature" audience, 13 and above.

Annotation: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a moving, yet disturbing, holocaust drama seen through the eyes of two innocent, yet different, eight year old boys. One is the son of a Nazi commandant; the other boy is in a Nazi extermination camp.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Social Science, Holocaust

Talking Points: During a horrible time in history two boys from different backgrounds connect and become friends. What happens when two boys from very different backgrounds become friends and both end up dead?

Rating & Interest Age: PG-13. Definitely for 13 and older.

Challenge Issues: Very disturbing.

Reason for Inclusion: The film is very disturbing but very realistic. It portrays the atrocities of World War II from a child's perspective. My fifteen year old daughter recommended the film, and because of the content I delayed viewing it. Now I realize why she recommended it. It's powerful, beautiful and extremely sad all at the same time.