I should probably do a series of blog entries dedicated to movies that I watch:

Well, up next is a sad movie with a not-so Hollywood ending. While I loved Schindler's List, it was far two two dimensional. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was far more interesting and dynamic. The scenes between Bruno, the german 8 year old boy, and the Shmuel, a Jewish 8 year old boy, really touched something in my heart and soul. The subtext of Bruno's family, a Nazi affiliated military one, with the complex nature of the Holocaust makes it even better. The father saw what he was doing as Patriotism (How the hell can murdering countless innocent people be Patriotic? Well, the movie makes a point on that as well, which frightens me and intrigued me). The Mother at first touts the party line, but eventually grew to hold a conscience about the needless blood. The older daughter was the perfect picture of indoctrination.

Parallel to the older daughter's transformation, I can see the reason why the father could see Patriotism in the act of genocide. Indoctrination and a fierce belief in national goals were at the forefront of the story. That is not a defense though and I agree with other critics as well as the Nuremberg Tribunal. Willful delusion is still delusion.

You cannot put lipstick on a Nazi and bring him out to a Rocky Horror Movie festival.

The loss of innocence was also there, but it held far less note than movies or books like Anne Frank or Night by Eli Wiesel. Instead, I think the writer and movie producer wanted to portray based on perspective of an 8 year old, who still held onto his innocence up to the last moment. Spielberg loses innocence in his films due to environment and reality, but this movie takes the other route and fights to maintain illusion despite reality. This movie was definitely fiction, but it held sentiment.

Innocence is at the heart of the plot and I know it is quite unbelievable, but I like the concept, because it's a different kind of warning than the movies of Spielberg about genocide in your backyard or prejudice. Innocence in this story serves as a warning to everyone young and old about the dangers that we share in our lack of knowledge and how naive understanding could lead to tragedy. Innocence in this regard is condemned to death in this film, which I find breathtakingly tragic. It is better that Bruno lies to himself until the very end about the virtue of his father's work, which few other Holocaust movies would even attempt.

The ending was not Hollywood material, which was done to the films credit. Hell, if you tried to do the BBC ending for an American movie, you would get your ass handed to you by sponsors and studio heads, because like the Nazi filmmakers of the 1940's whose work was portrayed in the movie to contrast the harsh conditions of the Concentration Camps from the propaganda that actually was there, American audiences just can't handle a bitter pill.

On a whole, I see why Critics don't like the movie, it's unrealistic, sentimental, and keeps onto perplexing innocence. However, contrary to those critics, I also view this movie as a Triumph of anti-Climax and a tragic view of truth. The Hollywood, Ballywood, Hong Kong, European New Wave, and even some UK companies operate on the old standards of "happily ever after" for far too long, give people a bitter pill from time to time.

WL's Rating

:lugh: :lugh: out of 5