The Boy In The Striped Pajamas Essay

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a powerful and emotional film about two young boys’ friendship during the Holocaust. The movie is based on the novel “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” by John Boyne. The film takes place in Berlin around 1940 during the Holocaust (World War II). The film is seen through the eyes of young Bruno (Ada Butterfield), an eight-year-old boy, who is oblivious to what is happening around him. Mark Herman, the director of the film, has directed several other films. Some of his other work includes Brassed Off (1996), Purely Belter (2000), and Little Voice (1998). The genre of Herman’s work mainly consists of comedy. He had not written a drama before. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was his first movie based on something so significant. He knocked out the comedy and wrote a dramatic historical fiction screenplay that will …show more content…

His father has been promoted at work and they are moving to the country to live on a farm. Bruno’s father is a German soldier who has been promoted to Commandant. Although, Bruno is happy of his dad’s promotion he is not too fond of having to leave his friends. Bruno and his family move to a big house surrounded by high walls. Bruno is oblivious to what is happening around him because his parents want to conceal the Holocaust from him. He is not allowed to play in the backyard and must stay in the small front yard if he wants to play. Bruno and his sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) are homeschooled. Their teacher Mr. Liszt (Jim Norton) teaches them about German geography and history. He is trying to implant the children with ideas of the Nazi party. Bruno one day confronts his parents about why the farmers at the farm field wore striped pajamas. They, of course, evade his questions to keep him from knowing the truth about his father’s real job. The constant evasion of answering his questions soon fuels his curiosity to find out the