204.39.17.90 (talk) I changed a simple thing that made it kind of confusing as to who Gretel was explaining the anti-Semitic propaganda to. |
78.86.128.95 (talk) Have trimmed the plot to remove subplots and some further edits to remove the self-explanatory - you can find what gas was used in the gas chambers elsewhere for example. |
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[[Image:Sachsenhausen clothes.jpg|thumb|left|Prisoner's clothing from [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp]]]] |
[[Image:Sachsenhausen clothes.jpg|thumb|left|Prisoner's clothing from [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp]]]] |
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[[SS]] officer Ralf ([[David Thewlis]]) and his wife Elsa ([[Vera Farmiga]]) have a twelve-year-old daughter, Gretel ([[Amber Beattie]]), and an eight-year-old son, Bruno ([[Asa Butterfield]]). The well-to-do family must move from Berlin to the "countryside" when the father is promoted to [[Obersturmbannführer]]. Unknown to Bruno, the new house is near a [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]], and Ralf is the new commandant. Bruno initially dislikes the new house as he always has to stay in the house or the front yard. From his bedroom window, Bruno spots a barbed wire fence with people in "striped pyjamas" behind it. Though he thinks it is a farm, it is the camp with [[Jewish]] people in their camp clothing. Bruno is forbidden to go there, because according to Ralf "they're not really people"; it is agreed that at least they are a bit weird, as demonstrated by their clothing. |
[[SS]] officer Ralf ([[David Thewlis]]) and his wife Elsa ([[Vera Farmiga]]) have a twelve-year-old daughter, Gretel ([[Amber Beattie]]), and an eight-year-old son, Bruno ([[Asa Butterfield]]). The well-to-do family must move from Berlin to the "countryside" when the father is promoted to [[Obersturmbannführer]]. Unknown to Bruno, the new house is near a [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]], and Ralf is the new commandant. Bruno initially dislikes the new house as he always has to stay in the house or the front yard. From his bedroom window, Bruno spots a barbed wire fence with people in "striped pyjamas" behind it. Though he thinks it is a farm, it is the camp with [[Jewish]] people in their camp clothing. Bruno is forbidden to go there, because according to Ralf "they're not really people"; it is agreed that at least they are a bit weird, as demonstrated by their clothing. |
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Frustrated by his being banned from seeing the back yard, Bruno goes there anyway and meets Shmuel ([[Jack Scanlon]]), who is at the fence and who is the same age. Shmuel tells Bruno that he is a Jew and that the Jewish people have been imprisoned here by soldiers, who took their clothes and gave them the striped camp clothing. Bruno is confused and starts having doubts about his father being a good person. Later, he is relieved after seeing a [[propaganda film]] about the camp (that is a parody of ''[[Theresienstadt (film)|Theresienstadt]]''). Bruno often returns to the fence. He brings Shmuel food and plays [[draughts]] (checkers) with him through the fence. Meanwhile, Ralf hires Herr Liszt ([[Jim Norton (actor)|Jim Norton]]) to tutor Gretel and Bruno, although in reality he is brainwashing them with [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] [[Nazi propaganda]]. Gretel is very responsive to this and becomes an even more fanatical [[Nazi]] than she already was. However, Bruno is more sceptical of his teaching, as the Jewish people he knows, such as Pavel and Shmuel, are nice people. |
Frustrated by his being banned from seeing the back yard, Bruno goes there anyway and meets Shmuel ([[Jack Scanlon]]), who is at the fence and who is the same age. Shmuel tells Bruno that he is a Jew and that the Jewish people have been imprisoned here by soldiers, who took their clothes and gave them the striped camp clothing. Bruno is confused and starts having doubts about his father being a good person. Later, he is relieved after seeing a [[propaganda film]] about the camp (that is a parody of ''[[Theresienstadt (film)|Theresienstadt]]''). Bruno often returns to the fence. He brings Shmuel food and plays [[draughts]] (checkers) with him through the fence. Meanwhile, Ralf hires Herr Liszt ([[Jim Norton (actor)|Jim Norton]]) to tutor Gretel and Bruno, although in reality he is brainwashing them with [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] [[Nazi propaganda]]. Gretel is very responsive to this and becomes an even more fanatical [[Nazi]] than she already was. However, Bruno is more sceptical of his teaching, as the Jewish people he knows, such as Pavel and Shmuel, are nice people. |
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⚫ | One night, Gretel nervously listens as her parents have a vicious shouting match and comforts her brother. It is decided that Elsa and the children will have to return to Berlin, which Ralf and Gretel agree to. Bruno, however, does not want to leave anymore, because of his friend Shmuel. When Bruno breaks the news to Shmuel, he reveals that his father has gone missing in the camp. Bruno offers to help find him. The next day, he arrives with a shovel and digs a hole under the fence. |
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One night, over dinner, Kotler is blamed by Ralf and Ralf's visiting father (who is also a firm Nazi) that he failed to report that his father emigrated to [[Switzerland]] some time ago, as opposed to contributing to the "national revival". Frustrated, Kotler responds violently to Pavel's accidental overturning Kotler's wine glass in the course of serving supper to the family. Calling Pavel a cretin, he drags the man from the room into an adjacent room, from which the sounds of violence emanate. Through the partly-open door, all that can be seen is Kotler's boot as he kicks Pavel. Elsa implores Ralf to do something, but he merely ignores what is going on. When in Gretel's room --- which is festooned with Nazi propaganda --- she gently explains the anti-Semitic propaganda Lizt has been teaching them to Bruno. |
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Soon after, Shmuel is seen at the house, polishing wine goblets ("they needed someone with small hands to polish these") and Bruno gives him a cake. The two friends have a brief chat about whether their respective fathers are good men. Bruno asks his friend "Is it really horrible in the camp?" The question is left unanswered as -- with cake crumbs still clinging to Shmuel's mouth -- Kotler unexpectedly enters and harshly scolds Shmuel for speaking with Bruno. Noticing the crumbs, he menacingly asks Shmuel if he has been stealing food. Shmuel tells the officer that Bruno is his friend and that he gave him the cake. Bruno, scared, denies knowing Shmuel and that he had helped himself to the cake. Kotler tells Shmuel to finish cleaning the glasses, and that on his return the two would "have a little chat about what happens to rats who steal". |
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⚫ | |||
Bruno changes into prison clothes, crawls carefully under the fence, and enters the camp with Shmuel. Once inside, Bruno discovers that the camp is the opposite of what he saw in the propaganda film and he starts to regret his offer of help to Shmuel, wanting to return home. Determined not to go back on his promise, however, he continues to search for Shmuel's father. However, after a while of looking without success, the two boys get bundled into a group of Jews, and led towards the [[gas chambers]], although neither of them are aware of this or where they are going |
Bruno changes into prison clothes, crawls carefully under the fence, and enters the camp with Shmuel. Once inside, Bruno discovers that the camp is the opposite of what he saw in the propaganda film and he starts to regret his offer of help to Shmuel, wanting to return home. Determined not to go back on his promise, however, he continues to search for Shmuel's father. However, after a while of looking without success, the two boys get bundled into a group of Jews, and led towards the [[gas chambers]], although neither of them are aware of this or where they are going. Meanwhile, back at the house, Elsa informs Ralf (who is, ironically, in a meeting discussing the possibility of expanding the crematorium) of Bruno's absence. Ralf and his soldiers realise Bruno is in the camp and go searching for him. Discovering the empty hut, he realises that Bruno must have gone to the gas chamber and races there. When he arrives, however, he is too late. |
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The movie ends with a shot of the abandoned clothes in the dressing room, reminding the viewer that the tragedy is not just Bruno and Shmuel's deaths, but the deaths of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. |
The movie ends with a shot of the abandoned clothes in the dressing room, reminding the viewer that the tragedy is not just Bruno and Shmuel's deaths, but the deaths of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. |
Revision as of 20:42, 5 December 2009
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mark Herman |
Written by | Screenplay: Mark Herman Novel: John Boyne |
Produced by | David Heyman |
Starring | Asa Butterfield Vera Farmiga David Thewlis Jack Scanlon David Hayman Rupert Friend |
Cinematography | Benoît Delhomme |
Edited by | Michael Ellis |
Music by | James Horner |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release dates | United Kingdom: September 12, 2008 Israel: October 30, 2008 United States: November 7, 2008 |
Running time | 94 minutes |
Countries | Template:FilmUK Template:FilmUS |
Language | English |
Budget | $12.5 million |
Box office | $40,034,748 |
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in the United States) is a Template:Fy British drama film directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman, starring Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, and Vera Farmiga. It is based on the book of the same name by Irish novelist John Boyne.[1]
The film tells the story of Bruno, an eight-year-old German boy who leads a rather comfortable life in Berlin during World War II. His father is a high ranking Nazi SS officer, but things change when the family has to move due to his father's new post. In his innocence, Bruno sees the nearby concentration camp as a "farm" and wonders why its inhabitants are always wearing striped pajamas. Eventually Bruno becomes friends with a Jewish boy his own age who lives on the other side of the gate.
Plot
SS officer Ralf (David Thewlis) and his wife Elsa (Vera Farmiga) have a twelve-year-old daughter, Gretel (Amber Beattie), and an eight-year-old son, Bruno (Asa Butterfield). The well-to-do family must move from Berlin to the "countryside" when the father is promoted to Obersturmbannführer. Unknown to Bruno, the new house is near a Nazi concentration camp, and Ralf is the new commandant. Bruno initially dislikes the new house as he always has to stay in the house or the front yard. From his bedroom window, Bruno spots a barbed wire fence with people in "striped pyjamas" behind it. Though he thinks it is a farm, it is the camp with Jewish people in their camp clothing. Bruno is forbidden to go there, because according to Ralf "they're not really people"; it is agreed that at least they are a bit weird, as demonstrated by their clothing.
Frustrated by his being banned from seeing the back yard, Bruno goes there anyway and meets Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), who is at the fence and who is the same age. Shmuel tells Bruno that he is a Jew and that the Jewish people have been imprisoned here by soldiers, who took their clothes and gave them the striped camp clothing. Bruno is confused and starts having doubts about his father being a good person. Later, he is relieved after seeing a propaganda film about the camp (that is a parody of Theresienstadt). Bruno often returns to the fence. He brings Shmuel food and plays draughts (checkers) with him through the fence. Meanwhile, Ralf hires Herr Liszt (Jim Norton) to tutor Gretel and Bruno, although in reality he is brainwashing them with anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda. Gretel is very responsive to this and becomes an even more fanatical Nazi than she already was. However, Bruno is more sceptical of his teaching, as the Jewish people he knows, such as Pavel and Shmuel, are nice people.
One night, Gretel nervously listens as her parents have a vicious shouting match and comforts her brother. It is decided that Elsa and the children will have to return to Berlin, which Ralf and Gretel agree to. Bruno, however, does not want to leave anymore, because of his friend Shmuel. When Bruno breaks the news to Shmuel, he reveals that his father has gone missing in the camp. Bruno offers to help find him. The next day, he arrives with a shovel and digs a hole under the fence.
Bruno changes into prison clothes, crawls carefully under the fence, and enters the camp with Shmuel. Once inside, Bruno discovers that the camp is the opposite of what he saw in the propaganda film and he starts to regret his offer of help to Shmuel, wanting to return home. Determined not to go back on his promise, however, he continues to search for Shmuel's father. However, after a while of looking without success, the two boys get bundled into a group of Jews, and led towards the gas chambers, although neither of them are aware of this or where they are going. Meanwhile, back at the house, Elsa informs Ralf (who is, ironically, in a meeting discussing the possibility of expanding the crematorium) of Bruno's absence. Ralf and his soldiers realise Bruno is in the camp and go searching for him. Discovering the empty hut, he realises that Bruno must have gone to the gas chamber and races there. When he arrives, however, he is too late.
The movie ends with a shot of the abandoned clothes in the dressing room, reminding the viewer that the tragedy is not just Bruno and Shmuel's deaths, but the deaths of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Cast
- Asa Butterfield as Bruno
- Vera Farmiga as Elsa (Mother)
- David Thewlis as Ralf (Father)
- Jack Scanlon as Shmuel
- David Hayman as Pavel
- Rupert Friend as Kotler
- Jim Norton as Herr Liszt
- Amber Beattie as Gretel
- Sheila Hancock and Richard Johnson as Grandma and Grandpa
- Cara Horgan as Maria (Maid)
Production
The film was shot in Budapest, Hungary.
Regarding shooting the final scene, "that was just a nightmare on so many levels," says Herman. "You've probably got more lawyers there than filmmakers. You had all the legalities of kids in amongst grown-up naked people."[2]
Soundtrack
The original score for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was composed by James Horner. It has been released exclusively at iTunes and Amazon.com as a download only. The track listing is as follows:
- "Boys Playing Airplanes" – 4:13
- "Exploring the Forest" – 2:36
- "The Train Ride to a New Home" – 3:34
- "The Winds Gently Blow Through the Garden" – 5:57
- "An Odd Discovery Beyond the Trees" – 2:51
- "Dolls Aren't for Big Girls, Propaganda is..." – 3:43
- "Black Smoke" – 1:43
- "Evening Supper – A Family Slowly Crumbles" – 7:53
- "The Funeral" – 1:54
- "The Boys' Plans, From Night to Day" – 2:36
- "Strange New Clothes" – 9:53
- "Remembrance, Remembrance" – 5:31
Reception
The film was broadly welcomed by the popular press in both the USA and Europe. For example, James Christopher in The Times referred to it as "a hugely affecting film. Important, too".[3] However, it also had many detractors, including Manohla Dargis of The New York Times who summed it up as "the Holocaust trivialized, glossed over, kitsched up, commercially exploited and hijacked for a tragedy about a Nazi family".[4]
Elsewhere, even the very premise of the book and subsequent film—that there would be a child of Shmuel's age in the camp—is, according to critics, an unacceptable fabrication that does not reflect the reality of life in the camps. Reviewing the original book, Rabbi Benjamin Blech writes: "Note to the reader: There were no eight-year-old Jewish boys in Auschwitz - the Nazis immediately gassed those not old enough to work."[5] John Boyne is actually closer to the truth on this point. According to statistics from the Labur Assignment Office, Auschwitz-Birkenau contained 619 living male children from one month to fourteen years old on August 30, 1944. On January 14, 1945, 773 male children were registered as living at the camp. "The oldest children were fifteen, and fifty-two were less than eight years of age." "Some children were employed as camp messengers and were treated as a kind of curiosity, while every day an enormous number of children of all ages were killed in the gas chambers."[6] Such alleged falsification of history has important consequences, say critics, for the way that the victims of the Holocaust might be remembered and commemorated, and the Holocaust itself historicised, thus reviving arguments that were previously aired about Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and the manner in which that film too was seen to sanitise and falsify aspects of life in the concentration camp.[7]
Craig Detweiler published a study guide to the film, which asks viewers to answer some of the same hard ethical questions raised by rabbinical critic Benjamin Blech.[8]
Awards and nominations
Won
- British Independent Film Award:
- Best Actress - Vera Farmiga
- Chicago International Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award - Mark Herman
Nominated
- British Independent Film Award:
- Best Director - Mark Herman
- Most Promising Newcomer - Asa Butterfield
- Premio Goya:
- Best European Film
References
- ^ Vilkomerson, Sara (March 31, 2009). "On Demand This Week: Lost Boys". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Applebaum, Stephen (September 11, 2008). "Disney's 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' - The stuff of nightmares". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Christopher, James (September 11, 2008). "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Review". The Times. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Dargis, Manohla (November 7, 2008). "Horror Through a Child's Eyes". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Blech, Benjamin (October 23, 2008). "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". Aish.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ People in Auschwitz, by Hermann Langbein, translated by Harry Zohn, Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c.2004. ISBN 0807828165; A lucky child : a memoir of surviving Auschwitz as a young boy, by Thomas Buergenthal, London : Profile, 2009. ISBN 1846681782.
- ^ Spielberg's Holocaust: Critical Perspectives on Schindler's List, edited by Y. Loshitzky, Indiana University Press, 1997
- ^ Detweiler, Craig. "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – A Study Guide". WingClips.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
External links
- Official UK website
- Official US website
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas at IMDb
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas at Box Office Mojo
- Production notes
[[Category:American drama fssghdhrh drt