The Boy in the Striped PajamasMovie Reviews

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Must Go!
Written December 1, 2008
A well done history lesson

by Older View

The majority of this movie is spent developing familial relationships and the relationship of a young German boy with a young Jewish boy in a concentration camp. It is for the most part devoid of terrifying images, but it manages to convey the method and horror of the holocaust. It is a must see regardless of personal religion. It more than adequately portrays man's inhumanity to man.
- 61 out of 69 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 4, 2008
Important Must See

by William Kent

Although some critics disapproved of this fictionalized account of the holocaust set around a Nazi family, seeing it as the holocaust turned into "entertainment," such criticisms miss the point. The movie is not "entertainment," although it is so well done that your attention is riveted throughout. Instead, it is a surrealistic memorial to the horror of the holocaust, in particular the murder of Jewish children, and a reminder that this must never be allowed to happen again. If you are considering seeing this movie, please do.

Do not be held back by any criticism you may have read or by your own reluctance to see a movie that you think will depress you. Certainly the movie involves something that is so horrible that it is beyond comprehension that human beings could have done. But it is not depressing. American culture tries to tell us that we can and should insulate ourselves from suffering, but this is a delusion that only keeps us from understanding life.
- 39 out of 41 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 19, 2008
Great Movie!!

by daddyduke

Great Movie! Stunning in it's simplicity and message. One of those where you just have to stare at the screen at the end for a few minutes to fully absorb how good it was.
- 38 out of 44 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 13, 2008
Captivating

by rjduran

This film leaves you speechless at the end people in the theatre could not even leave, they just sat there for a few minutes then got up and silently left. The emotion is spell binding, anyone over 13 years of age should see this film it will leave with a sense of never wanting this to happen to any human ever again and yet knowing that it could.
- 12 out of 13 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 17, 2008
An unbelieveable story

by fnaves74

I was very anxious to see this movie, as I have always been very interested in Holocaust features (Schindler's List is my preferred movie of all times), but nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of this movie. Like other reviewers, no one in the theater moved once the movie was over. It is a sad but true story of this horrific time in history, now seen in the eyes of a child that simply cannot understand why everyone is saying bad things about this very good Jewish friend. It certainly makes you think a lot about life.
- 15 out of 19 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 12, 2008
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by 1onestop

WOW! What a powerful, yet sad movie! It makes you think about how we judge other people in life and dehumanize them. I think everyone should see this movie to remind us all that we are ALL people, skin, bones and beating heart with feelings.
Although I think everyone should go to see it at the theater and support good movies at the cinemas, it is a movie that will have impact via DVD rentals too.
If everyone could get the message of this movie and take it to heart as their personal Christmas gift what an awesome world this would be!
- 14 out of 18 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 17, 2008
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by cindy55

This movie was gripping from the beginning. The acting is superb, award winning. The last few minutes just simply tear at your heart. Have tissues ready for yourself and those sitting with you. It isn't a war movie, it's a story of humanity.
- 15 out of 20 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 10, 2008
Awesome Movie!

by mookie73

There are few movies that you see in a lifetime that when it is over you find it difficult to leave the theater. This is a must see and I personally believe that every college student should see it as a history lesson. Very well done and it will be a definite buy on DVD.
- 16 out of 23 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 26, 2008
The boy in the Striped Pajamas

by sandy52rn

This movie was amazing. It kept your interest - but the theme is dark and very sad. The ending didn't leave me crying, only a feeling of sadness and disbelief that people actually commiteed such violent and unprovoced actions agains a nation/religion as the Jew. You see the drama unfold through the eyes of a child - It is a must see for those 16 years or older - least we forget how easy it can be to hate.
- 9 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 22, 2008
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by andreyb

I must warn you, this movie is not a usual entertainment that goes well with popcorn. It will likely make you cry and most definitely will make you remember. And that is why you should go and see this tragic, beautiful, and thoughtful film. The story is made from the contrasts and juxtaposition - true/lies, light scratch/severe beating, life/death, free/trapped and at the end both worlds merge and tragically so. The acting is wonderful and touching. Both boys are amazing and will steal your hearts.
This is movie is the best film I've seen in 2008 and easily in the the top list of movies about Holocaust.
- 9 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 3, 2008
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by dgps11

This was a great film on many levels. The innocence and wide open wonder of children, the terror that man can produce, and the lessons we had better learn from history. This is a movie that should be seen by those who don't believe that the camps and the killings of the Holocaust ever really existed.
The actors were real enough in their roles, although I picked up too much of what I thought were English accents rather than German sounding words. My Grandson is 10 years old, and I could see him in the two young actors who portrayed 8 year olds. The sister at 12 years old was right on the mark as first a little girl and then the changed Hitler youth example. We have waited for several weeks for this film to come to our regular theatre in San Leandro, Ca., but I guess it was not selected as a "selected theatre", even though it was advertised as coming to that location. So, yesterday we went to Walnut Creek to see it before it went away. I was afraid we would miss it. Good popcorn too!
- 21 out of 34 found this review helpful.
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Go
Written December 28, 2008
Great story!

by taterbins

This is a side of the Holocaust that has not been explored enough. It is the story of a young boy, the son of a Nazi work camp commandant, and his response, as an 8 year old, to what is going on arond him. The family's guilt is evident, but I would have like to have seen more of the mother's reaction. She spends the last half of the movie moping around the screen, depressed and unresolved.

There were many tears shed in the theatre where I saw the movie. Prepare yourself.
- 11 out of 14 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 30, 2008
This Is Not A Good "Happy Date" Movie!

by Big Dog Rocker

I have never heard a theater as quiet as when "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas" ended. I have never gone in the men's room after a movie and heard so many men snuffling and blowing their noses. I have never exited the theater and seen a man weeping as he waited for his date to leave her rest room. That's the power of the movie's end.

In retrospect (I left the theater about 40 hours ago), what may seem like weak moments or even cliches while watching the movie are all wiped out by the culmination that forces you to think about the Holocaust as never before. Comparisons to moments in American history, some quite recent, are unavoidable, though the severity of those comparisons pales against this reality.

The movie's value lies in its warning about what hatred, intolerance, and fear can become when people fail to speak out and act against them. No matter your politics and/or religion, you will say "Never again!"
- 9 out of 11 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 19, 2008
Amazing Film

by Janelle427

The moment I viewed the trailer on my Macbook I knew this was a film to see. I dragged my mom to go along with me. She thought it was very sad and depressing, I agree. I feel however that seeing movies like this that involve the socialism of the past teach society a lesson about loving all people regardless of their beliefs and genetic heritage

Janelle
- 10 out of 13 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written November 14, 2008
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by hoakieman

This film is a hauntingly beautiful portrayal of childhood innocence set against the backdrop of Nazi cruelty and conflicted values within the family of the commandant of a concentration camp. The director provides us with a glimpse into the cruelty that man is capable of applying to other men when racism overcomes moral values.
We were at one moment laughing at the naivete of eight year old Bruno and joining him in his quest for a friend. At the next we were shocked at how the cruelty of the Nazi Officer could so frighten the boy that he would deny his new found friend
As we watched the story unfold on the screen I don't believe anyone was prepared for the Hitchcockian twist at the end that left us quiet in our seats, almost stunned into silence as weight of the consequences of choices descended upon Bruno and his family. Not entertaining, but a must see for anyone born after the Fall of Nazi Germany. My friends and I left the theater mulling over how the family would react.
- 11 out of 15 found this review helpful.
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