Story
Bruno (Asa Butterfield) is an eight-year-old boy. He lives in Berlin with his sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) and his parents (Vera Farmiga and David Thewliss) at the time of World War II. His father is an SS officer. He receives a promotion to Commandant and must move his family to the country. Bruno is sad to leave his friends behind and finds the new house very isolating. He isn’t allowed outside his front garden. When he asks why the ‘funny’ farmers at the neighbouring farm wear pyjamas, his bedroom window is barricaded.
Bruno eventually finds his way to the back of the house and into the freedom of the forest beyond. There he meets Shmuel (Jack Scanlon). He is sitting behind a barbed wire fence, looking sad and bedraggled and wearing pyjamas. The two boys become friends, although Bruno can’t understand why Shmuel can’t come over to his side of the fence to play. They meet regularly, and Bruno takes food to share with Shmuel, who’s always hungry. When Shmuel’s father goes missing, Bruno promises to help Shmuel find him. Shmuel finds a pair of pyjamas for Bruno to wear, and Bruno digs under the fence. Together they go looking for Shmuel’s father. What happens next is frighteningly unexpected.
Themes
War; Holocaust; concentration camps
Violence
There is some violence in this movie. For example:
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There is some use of substances in this movie, including drinking and smoking in the house.
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
None of concern
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a drama about the Holocaust, which is seen through the eyes of an innocent eight-year-old boy. The main message from this movie is the total injustice of hatred and prejudice against people because of their race or religion.
You might like to reinforce some of the movie’s values with your children. These values include:
- being prepared to question values you believe to be wrong
- not believing everything you are told
- seeing people for who they are rather than how they are labelled.
This movie could also give you the opportunity to discuss certain attitudes and behaviours with your children. For example, you could talk about how easily people can slip into appalling and inhuman treatment of their fellow human beings and the fact that this is still happening today.