Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: Film Notes
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – Film Notes
“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows”. John Betjeman • Est. Shot – blowing swastika flags and boys playing ‘planes’ through the streets of Berlin – a city of fortune and prestige. The boys are clearly innocent – unaffected or unworried by war. They run through a ‘ghetto’ village – Jewish people are rounded up by Nazi Soldiers and herded onto trucks. The boys do not take notice of the action that takes place, showing their ‘blind ignorance’ to the plight of the Jewish people. A crane shot is used to highlight the poor and crowded living conditions of the ghetto. Shots of Bruno and his friends playing soldiers show an admiration for soldiers, but an ignorance of the realities of war. Long shots of the car travelling to the new house are used to highlight its isolation. The house itself contrasts severely with the previous house – one was light, airy, bursting with colour and heritage, while the other appears drab, dull – a concrete fortress which fits the job of its occupier. The intrusion of soldiers into the house highlights the father’s authority, and positions the wife and children as the ‘outsiders’
“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows”. John Betjeman • Est. Shot – blowing swastika flags and boys playing ‘planes’ through the streets of Berlin – a city of fortune and prestige. The boys are clearly innocent – unaffected or unworried by war. They run through a ‘ghetto’ village – Jewish people are rounded up by Nazi Soldiers and herded onto trucks. The boys do not take notice of the action that takes place, showing their ‘blind ignorance’ to the plight of the Jewish people. A crane shot is used to highlight the poor and crowded living conditions of the ghetto. Shots of Bruno and his friends playing soldiers show an admiration for soldiers, but an ignorance of the realities of war. Long shots of the car travelling to the new house are used to highlight its isolation. The house itself contrasts severely with the previous house – one was light, airy, bursting with colour and heritage, while the other appears drab, dull – a concrete fortress which fits the job of its occupier. The intrusion of soldiers into the house highlights the father’s authority, and positions the wife and children as the ‘outsiders’