Starring Cara HorganJack ScanlonAsa Butterfield

By Mark Herman, 2009.

Based on the book by John Boyne, didn t really get the box office recognition it deserves on its theatrical release, struggling to find a foothold amidst a stampede of blockbusters. But this is a film that, surely, is ripe for discovery on DVD. Directed with care and diligence by Mark Herman, whose CV includes the excellent and , is set during the Second World War, in and around a Nazi concentration camp.

It tells its tale through the eyes of two young boys. One is the son of the camp s commandant, while the other is wearing the striped pyjamas of the title. The two boys meet and ultimately befriend one another, and tells the difficult story of their companionship.

It does it extremely well, too, careful to understate proceedings and demonstrate a restraint that serves the subject matter well. It s also quite a lean film, and one boasting excellent performances, including David Thewlis as the aforementioned commandant. If has a problem or two, they pale in comparison to its strengths.

For this is a tightly directed, moving film, that does real justice to the terrific book it s derived from. It s not always an easy watch, but it's very memorable.-- Berlin, 1942. Eight-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust.

He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that his father was promoted and he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Then he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pajamas.

Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation, as their secret meetings result in a friendship that has startling and devastating consequences. Synopsis Based upon the novel by John Boyne, is a heart-wrenching tale of an unlikely friendship that forms between the son of a concentration camp commander and a young Jewish boy during World War II. Directed by renowned British filmmaker Mark Hermon ( , ) the film features a cast that includes Vera Farmiga ( , ) and David Thewlis (Mike Leigh's , ).

Stills from The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (click for larger image). The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

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