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PAGE 12, DECEMBER 15, 2008, THE ISLANDER
“Goin* to
the Show...
♦♦
with...
Roland
Willis
THE BOY IN THE
STRIPED PAJAMAS
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Vera Fermiga,
David Thewlis, & Rupert Friend
Written & Directed by Mark Herman
Based on a novel by John Boyne
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Rated PG-13 - Implied violence
As though the imminent arrival
of Christmas were not depressing
enough, here comes the first in a
series of Holocaust movies.
Although the mantra is, “Never
again, never forget,” this only works
in movie terms if there is an audi
ence.
In this translation to the screen of
John Boyne’s novel, The Boy in the
Striped Pajamas, director Mark Her
man (Little Voice, Brassed Off, Hope
Springs) does not bring a well-known
cast (Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and
Ralph Fiennes) and the hope of sur
vival that Spielberg did in Schindler’s
List, nor does he bring the action
of Willem Dafoe fighting his way to
survival by boxing in the ring for the
camp commandant in Robert Young’s
Triumph of the Spirit, nor the surviv
al story of a musician, Adrien Brody
in Roman Polanski’s, The Pianist.
Instead there is a pretty unknown
cast and the gloom of a terrible ending
permeates through this new film.
This is the story of a slice of the
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holocaust seen through the eyes of
two eight-year-old boys, Bruno (Asa
Butterfield) and Schmuel (Jack Scan
lon).
I admire anyone who thinks they
know what goes on in the fantasy
land of a child of this age.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
starts at a party in Berlin to cel
ebrate the promotion Bruno’s father
(David Thewlis) into the upper ech
elon of the SS.
The promotion does involve mov
ing the family to the new posting.
However, no inconvenience matters
in the fight to make the new Ger
many a better place.
Of course, the posting is to Aus-
wich where Bruno’s father becomes
the new commandant.
Unlike the homicidal maniac Amon
Goeth in Schindler’s List, the father
is a loving family man who firmly
believes that ridding Europe of Jews
is as much a battle as fighting the
Russians on the Eastern front.
We know the details of the holo
caust, what happened and how it
happened, but the mystery remains
as to how the entire German nation,
apparently cultured and civilized
before 1930, participated in the
destruction of the Jews.
You only have to read the diaries
of Victor Klemperer, now available as
the best seller “I Will Bear Witness”
in which he describes the abuse and
destruction of the Jewish population
in Dresden between 1933 and 1945,
to know that this is true.
Bruno’s father is as brain-washed
as the rest, but his mother (Vera
Farmiga) cannot cope when she dis
covers the source of the nasty smell
ing smoke, and the family starts to
disintegrate.
However, if the film is supposed
to succeed by showing how difficult
it was for this poor family, it fails
miserably because it is impossible
to sympathize with their family dif
ficulties when thousands of Jews are
being slaughtered just across the
fields.
Little Bruno fancies himself as an
explorer and, seeing what he thinks
are farmhouses from an upstairs win
dow, goes off to investigate.
He runs through the woods till
he gets to an electric fence and finds
Schmuel, dressed in the prison-issued
striped pajamas, sitting on the other
side.
They talk, become friends, play
checkers and Bruno smuggles food to
Schmuel. Neither of the boys under
stands what is going on. How could
they? How could we if we came across
this scene?
If the film succeeds it is in pointing
out the obvious... children are blind
to color, race and religion.
This is a very depressing film and
right from the beginning I knew that
it was all going to end badly, and sat
squirming in my seat for almost two
hours.
In terms of, “Never again, never
forget,” few people will be reminded of
this as few will attend The Boy in the
Striped Pajamas.
My rating is C.
Perhaps the other upcoming holo
caust films, Willem Dafoe in Adam
Resurrected, Kate Winslet in The
Reader, and Daniel Craig in Defiance,
will have more success.
As a footnote I should add that Elie
Weisel’s, “The Night Trilogy” has just
been reissued and is compulsory read
ing if you really want to know what
went on in the death camps. □
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MOVIES INFO. BARGAIN
L 634-9100 MATINEES DAILY J
AUSTRALIA (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 4:45, 8:15
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED
PAJAMAS (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 5:05, 7:20, 9:40
THE DAY THE EARTH
STOOD STILL (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 4:20, 7:10, 9:50
DELGO (PG)
Mon-Thurs 4:50, 7:30, 9:40
FOUR CHRISTMASES (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 5:10, 7:40, 10:00
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE
2 AFRICA (PG)
Mon-Thurs 7:15
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
(PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 4:40, 9:35
TWILIGHT (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 4:10, 7:00, 9:45
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