SYNOPSIS:
From Miramax Films, the studio that brought you the Academy Award-winning LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (Best Foreign Language Film, 1998) comes THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS. Based on the best-selling novel by John Boyne, it's "an unforgettable motion picture experience. Powerful and moving beyond words" (Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com). Bored and restless in his new home, Bruno, an innocent and naive eight-year-old, ignores his mother and sets off on an adventure in the woods. Soon he meets a young boy, and a surprising friendship develops. Set during World War II, this remarkable and inspiring story about the power of the human spirit will capture your heart and engage your mind.
MOVIE REVIEW:
As this film draws to a close after 95 minutes, we’d think the more sentimental viewers would have shed buckets of tears. If, by any chance, you have not shed a single tear by the time the end credits begin rolling, we’d say you are one heartless person who has lost all ability to feel. This may sound harsh, but we truly think that anyone who isn’t affected by this touching movie deserves to reflect on his or her own soul.
Based on John Boyne’s novel of the same name, the well made historical picture tells the story of young Bruno, who grows up in a wealthy family in pre war Germany with his mother, elder sister, and army commander father. As his father is assigned duties at a prison camp, the family is relocated to the countryside, It is there Bruno will befriend another young boy who lives behind an electrified fence and is always dressed in striped pyjamas. A friendship is formed, tested and ultimately brings about unthinkable tragedy, which will leave viewers heartbroken.
While the synopsis sounds like an emotionally manipulative tale which is perfect for that date where the boyfriend longs for his girlfriend to weep in his arms, we can assure you that this is more than that. The fact that the Jew boy is described as someone dressed in “striped pyjamas” is already a poetic depiction of someone in suffering, but it goes further that that.
First, the serious issue of the Holocaust is sensitively approached by the filmmakers, and by seeing how brutal things are through the eyes of a child, it makes the impact stronger when the final twist happens. Second, evergreen themes of friendship and betrayal are insightfully portrayed in this film, and as adults, you’d think how much you’ve changed since the day you proclaimed that someone as your “best friend” in school. Third, the film is both sophisticated and accessible, making it an engaging watch throughout its 95 minute runtime.
Mark Herman (Hope Springs, Little Voice) directs the screenplay he penned, and thanks to child actors Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon (as the rich boy and the imprisoned Jew respectively), he manages to bring the story within the pages to life. Accompanied by acclaimed actors Vera Farmiga (Joshua, The Departed) and David Thewlis (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Omen), it is evident that this refined film is made with sincerity and heart. And we would just like to emphasise again how the final haunting images will definitely stay in your mind a long time – if you have a heart.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains quite a bit of special features which will have you appreciating the film better. Friendship Beyond the Fence is a 20 minute behind the scenes look where the cast and crew talk about how the Holocaust was approached so that kids will understand the seriousness of it, and how although this happened a long time ago, it is still relevant to today’s state of things. There are five Deleted Scenes with optional commentary, and the best of it all will have to be the insightful Audio Commentary with director/writer Mark Herman and author John Boyne, where the duo talks about how this they made this film for both adult and children, and how scenes were shot in Budapest.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The disc’s visual transfer is pristine, and there are English, Portuguese and Thai audio tracks to choose from.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted on 23 June 2009
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