The plan was to catch the author John Boyne at the Singapore Writer's Festival. However, they rescheduled events and I missed out. But I did manage to catch the free screening of the movie made from his book- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Based during the Second World War, the story looks at the holocaust from a child's perspective. Eight year old Bruno's father is in the Nazi military and as he gets promoted, the family has to move from Berlin to the countryside. What is never said, but is understood, is that he is to be in charge of a concentration camp (presumably Auschwitz).
Bruno is a funny, intelligent child who is bored within the four walls of his house, and in one of his "exploring" trips wanders to the fence of the camp meeting a Jewish child, called Shmol, imprisoned in the camp. A friendship forms between the two, and they meet regularly at the fence, where Bruno brings Shmol food, and they talk, and even find ways to play across an electric fence.
Although yes, historically this was not possible (as children that young were usually not working in concentration camps), the movie looks at the entire issue of the holocaust, of war, of death and the brutality human beings are capable of, from the innocent perspective of a child.
At a point in the movie, Bruno, who is a bored, restless eight year old with an active imagination, tells the Jewish child Shmol that he thought it was pretty unfair that he was out there alone, while Shmol had so many others to play with at the other side of the fence. You can't help but smile at the absolute innocence of his words and later his actions.
But between some heartfelt, funny moments; the severe and dark undertone of the movie and its tragic ending makes you shiver and shudder, repeatedly, and you feel both, thankful and sad, that children see things so differently from adults.
Bruno is a funny, intelligent child who is bored within the four walls of his house, and in one of his "exploring" trips wanders to the fence of the camp meeting a Jewish child, called Shmol, imprisoned in the camp. A friendship forms between the two, and they meet regularly at the fence, where Bruno brings Shmol food, and they talk, and even find ways to play across an electric fence.
Although yes, historically this was not possible (as children that young were usually not working in concentration camps), the movie looks at the entire issue of the holocaust, of war, of death and the brutality human beings are capable of, from the innocent perspective of a child.
At a point in the movie, Bruno, who is a bored, restless eight year old with an active imagination, tells the Jewish child Shmol that he thought it was pretty unfair that he was out there alone, while Shmol had so many others to play with at the other side of the fence. You can't help but smile at the absolute innocence of his words and later his actions.
But between some heartfelt, funny moments; the severe and dark undertone of the movie and its tragic ending makes you shiver and shudder, repeatedly, and you feel both, thankful and sad, that children see things so differently from adults.
0 comments:
Post a Comment