The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
“The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”
Drama, War |
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a British historical tragedy film set in World War II, based on John Boyne’s 2006 novel of the same name. Written and directed by Mark Herman, produced by BBC Films and Heyday Films, and distributed by Miramax, the film stars Jack Scanlon in the title role. It was released on 12 September 2008 in the United Kingdom.
The Holocaust drama relates the horror of a Nazi extermination camp through the eyes of two 8-year-old boys; Bruno, the son of the camp’s Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jewish inmate.
The film has drawn criticism from some Holocaust educators for its factual inaccuracy, and emphasis on greater sympathy for the Nazi German family centred in the story, than for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
A young boy named Bruno lives in Berlin, in Nazi Germany during World War II. His father Ralf is promoted, and relocates the family to the “countryside”. Living without neighbours, far from any town, no friends to play and Bruno becomes lonely and bored. After spotting people working on what he thinks is a farm in the distance – actually a concentration camp – he is forbidden from playing in the back garden.
Bruno’s and his sister Gretel’s tutor, Herr Liszt, pushes an agenda of antisemitism and Nazi propaganda. This, together with Gretel’s infatuation with Lieutenant Kurt Kotler, makes her fanatical in her support for the Third Reich, to the point of covering her bedroom wall with posters and portraits of Adolf Hitler. Bruno is confused, as the only Jew known to the family, their servant Pavel, does not resemble the antisemitic caricatures in Liszt’s teachings.
Director: Mark Herman
Writers: John Boyne (novel), Mark Herman (written for the screen by)
Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Vera Farmiga, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, David Hayman
►Cast:
| Asa Butterfield | … | Bruno |
| Zac Mattoon O’Brien | … | Leon (as Zac Mattoon-O’Brien) |
| Domonkos Németh | … | Martin |
| Henry Kingsmill | … | Karl |
| Vera Farmiga | … | Mother |
| Cara Horgan | … | Maria |
| Zsuzsa Holl | … | Berlin Cook |
| Amber Beattie | … | Gretel |
| László Áron | … | Lars |
| David Thewlis | … | Father |
| Richard Johnson | … | Grandpa |
| Sheila Hancock | … | Grandma |
| Charlie Baker | … | Palm Court Singer |
| Iván Verebély | … | Meinberg |
| Béla Fesztbaum | … | Schultz |
| Attila Egyed | … | Heinz |
| Rupert Friend | … | Lieutenant Kotler |
| David Hayman | … | Pavel |
| Jim Norton | … | Herr Liszt |
| Jack Scanlon | … | Shmuel |
| László Nádasi | … | Isaak |
| László Quitt | … | Kapo 1 |
| Mihály Szabados | … | Kapo 2 |
| Zsolt Sáfár Kovács | … | Kapo 3 Sonderkommando |
| Gábor Harsai | … | Elderly Jewish Man (as Gábor Harsay) |
| Julia Papp | … | Dancer |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia