Director: Mark Herman
Cast: (Bruno), (Shmuel), (Mother), (Father,) (Gretel, (Lieutenant Kotler)
Review: Set in the Second World War, The boy in The Striped Pyjamas gives the viewer a frightful and fascinating perspective of the Nazi and the Jews through the eyes of a wealthy and powerful Nazi commander’s son, Bruno. Through the eyes of nine year old Bruno, the Jewish prisoners and his newly made friend Shmuel appear to be farmers working on the opposite side of the fence.
The film is quite shocking to the viewer because it contrasts extreme discrimination to the point of murdering millions of people, who the Nazi’s call “imperfect”, with the simple and accepting views of a nine year old child. Bruno’s innocence of the concentration camp is clearly demonstrated when he decides to help his friend Shmuel, and explore the land of where he lives.
Overall they don’t change the plot very much. But of course there are a few differences. I think the biggest difference between the book and the film is Bruno’s father. In the film he seems to be much kinder and concentrates more on his family, but in the novel he’s a more distant and cold person, whose life revolves around his job.
Some scenes have been removed and changed a little bit in the movie. In the book there is an odd chapter which tells about the Fury coming for dinner in the family’s home in Berlin to discuss the