The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Unintentional Viewing

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 21 September 2008 11:19:48

Yesterday Third Party and I were both feeling the change a bit and so rather than sitting around moping I decided to blow part of the weeks budget by grabbing the Family Railcard, hopping on the train to Newcastle and going to see a film in the "posh cinema", a.k.a multi-plex. (Note this was also intended to have the side effect of selling Third Party on the benefits of our new home).

Anyway, off we went for an afternoon to lift our spirits and when we arrived we started looking at the films, Sing-a-long version of Mama Mia, The Duchess or The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas were all on and whilst I was v. up for the first two Third Party had also heard the third was a good book, and a film some of her friends wanted to see - she had no idea of the content though.

The first indication that this might not be a childish feelgood movie which was a 12A classification just due to some language or mild nudity came when some adults without kids came and sat down. As Third Party muttered, they looked like English teachers and the kids behind us started muttering about telling their history teacher they'd been to see it. Anyway I thought it meant it would just be a period drama.

The moment the film started with a shot of the Nazi flag I realised that this was a film may not have been the feel good movie we were after. As time went on we became absorbed in a film which is in some ways more shocking through what it doesn't show and what is inferred rather than screened. Throughout the film I found myself mentally preparing for seeing the consequences of certain actions and engaging mentally with the film through this. It was also a film that disturbed me because where as often we dehumanise the people who committed the holocaust in order to cope with what they did it forced you to recognise that these were "ordinary people" with families, not monsters yet they were similtaneously committing horrendous acts of murder and cruelty against other human beings.

The one thing that did niggle was the fact the Nazi's had upper class English accents which just sounded wrong.

Anyway, at the end of the film we were moved and it took a few minutes to compose ourselves. The laughter soon started though when we started to look at the irony of going out for a feel good afternoon and ending up in a thoroughly moving film with no feel good factor. It was further added to when, at the station, Third Party said she would be ok if she didn't see anybody with a shaved head and less than a minute later a buddhist monk walked past, in robes, with a shaved head - (honestly).

So anyway it's the sort of film I think is useful for everybody to see once in their lives, but the sort of film you really do need to prepare to see.