Director: Mark Herman
Main Characters: Asa Butterfield (as Bruno), Zac Manttoon O'Brien (as Jewish friend Leon), Vera Farmiga (as Bruno's Mother), David Thewlis (as Bruno's Father).
Origional music by James Horner.
Set during World War II. This is a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp. They moved closer to it so the dad could work better. Mom has little information of what exactly the dad does for his job. When they move they are around the cruel minds of those solders who come in an out of their house. The daughter immediately changes because she ends up liking one of the men. She turns into a serious girl, she threw all her little kid stuff away and she started cutting out pictures of Nazi signs and showed so much hate towards the Jews. She didn't care what they did and how much information she found out or the horrid things she saw, there was no speck of emotion towards those people. When the boy first went to the house he looked out his window and saw the camp. At first he thought of it as a farm, or a fun place. He was immediately baned from looking threw his window; they boarded it up. He wasn't allowed to talk to the Jewish slave who worked at their house. The slave was an old man, very kind to the boy to. The boy grew more and more curious of the camp and of the people and why they wore stripped pajamas. As the days go by he learns more and more about things and starts to get the idea. One day he sneaks out and he runs toward this camp. He finally reaches it, it is barbed electric wire, and on the other side he saw this Jewish little boy around the same age as him. This boy is Leon, he is scared and hiding. The kids start talking and Bruno doesn't understand at the beginning. Leon is starving, so everyday Bruno brings him food, Leon is lonely, so Bruno plays with him everyday. He will bring games or stuff or just talk. It is a sweet and cute relationship. I grew hatred toward the dad and the sister in this movie for how cold there hearts wore. One day the mom came home from getting some groceries, when she got out of the car there was a horrible smell. It had occurred a couple days ago as well, the family didn't know were it came from besides the dad and his men. So one of the men opened the door for the mom and made the comment "man the more people they put in there the worse it smells". The mom got all wide eyed in shock and amazement that her husband would allow such a thing. She hurries up in the house into his office and yells at him. They get in a fight that lasted almost all night. One of the solders is a fake. His dad went to a camp because he was Jewish and the solder is Jewish but pretending not to be and the commander is starting to ask questions. So at the dinner table one night the dad is asking questions, the solder is getting frustrated and mad. They still have the servant who isn't liking the conversation so much and he so afraid of those men. The old man is serving the solder some wine and he is shaking. He spills a little bit and the solder pushes him threw the dinning room door on this tile and now they are out of sight but you can hear the old man crying; he beats him till he is dead. The next day a lady is cleaning the floor because there is blood stained on it. So to replace the old man Bruno's friend Leon is there drying wine glasses. They are all excited and Bruno asks him if he is hungry. Leon says yes anxiously, but right wen Leon is eating some bread that mad and scary solder that killed that old man the night before comes in threw the doors and sees. All the Jewish people are not fed, no supposed to eat i guess. He starts yelling saying theft and Leon said no my friend gave this to me to eat i am not stealing anything. Poor Leon because Bruno is so scared of what might happen and he lies and says no i have never seen him before he is not my friend; i just came in here and i saw him eating like this. Bruno runs out crying feeling horrible for what he had just did and the little boy is threatened by that guy. Bruno goes up to the camp where him and Leon sit and play and Leon doesn't show up for a whole week. Bruno not understanding completely thinks that they aren't friends any more not thinking that something may have happened. The reason why he thinks so lightly on this is not because he is young but because he watched a movie on that camp making it look so much happier and nicer than it really is. After a while Bruno goes up one more time and sees the Leon. Leon is sitting on the floor with his head down. When he looks up at Bruno his face is all cut up and bruised up. He had gotten beaten for what he was accused for and for what Bruno had lied about. Leon says he is sad because his father is missing and he can't find him anywhere, he has looked all over. Well Bruno's kind heart says i can dig under help you look for your dad with you. So the next day he goes to the camp, Leon had stolen the pajama out fit and a cap to cover his hair. Bruno strips and changes cloths and then goes inside. While he is inside he grows scared noticing how bad it is and nothing like the video. His parents notice he is gone and find out where he has gone they fallow but are too late he is already in the camp. Bruno and Leon are looking and they are in this building, when all these solders and dogs suddenly surround them and take a group of old skinny people and the kids to this place. They are asked to take off all there cloths and go into this small building where they gas and burn all the people. The commodore searching for his son in the camp now notices that people are missing and he must be one of the people in the building. Now he realizes how it feels and that it was wrong because now look at the consequences. The family cries. For me the ending is the best part. I feel bad for the kids but that is what the dad deserved. I recommend this movie it is so sad but definitely worth the watch. I love movies like this. I believe that those camps were so wrong and this movie has a strong & personal message.
I give this movie 10 Tear drops out of 10 tear drops.
