The profoundly moving and heartwrenching film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has become available to stream for free for Amazon Prime subscribers.
Landing on the streaming platform just this week, the movie gives a unique perspective on the horrors of the Holocaust, looking at it through the eyes of two children who strike up a friendship through the wire fence of a concentration camp.
Based on the best-selling book of the same name written by John Boyne, the film inflates through the innocent eyes of Bruno the young son of a Nazi commander, played by a young Asa Butterfield.
After moving from Berlin to a quiet home in Poland, the young boy soon becomes bored, ignoring his parents’ rules to stay within the garden and to go exploring.
That’s when he finds a boy of the same age, Shmuel, they soon strike up a friendship as the barbed-wire fence keeps them divided.
Unaware of the true evil nature of the camp that his friend lives in and his father helps run, Bruno strikes up a secret friendship and the two meet everyday to sit and chat.
Their interactions and the child-like ignorance of Bruno to the horrors of the other side of the fence create a deeply moving picture that will lead you on an emotional rollercoaster and leave a lasting impact on you.
Although the film didn’t scoop any nominations at the big awards, it was generally well received, particularly by audiences, with two genuinely moving standout performances from the young actors Butterfield and Jack Scanlon.
Vera Farmiga, who plays Bruno’s mother, also produces a great performance as she slowly discovers the truth about her husband’s work.
For Asa Butterfield, the role would kickstart his career; he would go on to pick up lead roles in Hugo, Ender’s Game and Nanny McPhee. In more recent year’s he’s best known for his role as Otis in Netflix’s hit show Sex Education.
The film was first released in 2008 and was directed by Mark Herman. The film avoids showing the horrific scenes of violence and instead focuses on the emotional and psychological impact of the Holocaust.
Some critics however didn’t see it in such a good light, beleive it ‘misrepresenting’ and ‘trivialising’ elements of war. On the popular filming reviewing website Rotten Tomatoes it has a critics rating of 65% while audiences rated it more highly at 85%.
However, with the film now free to watch for Prime subscribers the verdict can be left up to you.