Amazon Holiday

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When an SS Commander gets a promotion to go run a concentration camp, his 8-year-old son is so starved for companionship, that he secretly forms a friendship with an imprisoned Jewish boy, through an electric fence.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, Rupert Friend, Cara Horgan, Richard Johnson, David Hayman, Sheila Hancock

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketProceed with Caution. This is certainly a powerful movie-- how could it not be? It's about the Holocaust-- but it's not for those who need their conclusions tied up in a pretty pink ribbon.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: This movie is for very serious audiences, so don't laugh too loud, lest you offend someone.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It doesn't deliberately pull on your heart-strings and bang you over the head with emotions and music like a Hollywood movie would, but if you fill in the unspoken thoughts and feelings in your head, you might still cry, because it is pretty sad.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: You have to admit the title is great! What a cute little way of describing a small child who is put in a prison camp to starve, perform hard labor, and die for no good reason.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Vera Farmiga is in her usual top form, and looking more stunning than usual, I might add. And the little boys, Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon, take their time with the moments and dialogue, to really think about what they're saying, as if they weren't acting at all.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The film is beautifully shot, as the tones of the lighting shift from warm to cold, following their move from their happy life in Berlin, to the countryside, where their neighbors are concentration camp prisoners, and their lives becomes increasingly more and more grim.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story is appropriately understated as it depicts how even the people closest to the top SS Commanders had virtually no idea how badly the Jews were being treated in the camps, and how they, too, could be adversely affected by the atrocities surrounding them.

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2 comments:

Farzan said...

Movie looks pretty interesting from the trailers, but it also looks like its going to make me sad since its about the Holocaust

Monique said...

Holocaust movies can be very inspiring! But if you don't like "sad" you should definitely skip this one.