The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) is adapted from John Boyne's novel, and there is something worth knowing before watching it. The story: Bruno, the eight year old son of an SS commandant, moves with his family from Berlin to Poland. Beyond the wire behind the house he meets a boy called Shmuel. Bruno does not know what the place is, or why Shmuel is dressed in striped pyjamas. The film was widely loved and is still shown in schools. Against that, the Auschwitz Memorial has stated plainly that the book should be avoided by anyone studying or teaching the Holocaust. The objections are concrete: a child Shmuel's age arriving at the camp would almost certainly have been sent straight to the gas chamber, nobody sat unguarded along the fence, and the notion that an SS commandant's family did not know what was happening is not credible. Research at UCL found the book and film to be the most consumed Holocaust material among twelve to eighteen year olds, which means the inaccuracy travels widely. Boyne has defended it by calling the book a fable. As a drama it works and the ending genuinely hits. It is not a history lesson and should not be watched as one. It runs 94 minutes. Good for: drama, war narratives, and stories told from a child's point of view. Less good for: the ending is severe, it is not a film to watch with children, and anyone after historical accuracy is in the wrong place.