First Post and Film Review!

THREE MORE DAYS!!!!! I couldn’t be more excited for Cannes!!! Before we know it we’ll be settling into our apartments overlooking the beach and enjoying the French sunshine… which is probably even better than American sunshine. I currently only know about 10 french words…ok 5…but I’m hoping to become fluent on the plane ride so it’s fine :). I have no idea what to expect and that’s what is most exciting to me! I also have no idea how I’m supposed to “pack light” for a 2 ½ month trip. That is going to be impossible.



For my first film review, I chose to watch The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This movie absolutely tore me apart and was so eye-opening. You all should go see it. Anyways, here's my review:


The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is as moving as it is haunting. This film based on the novel by John Boyne is an account of the Holocaust from a very unusual perspective. Bruno (Asa Butterfield) is the eight-year-old son of a decorated Nazi soldier in Berlin when his father (David Thewlis) gets promoted to a new job in the country. After the family moves, Bruno can’t help but wonder about the “farm” surrounded by electric fences that he sees out of his window.


He is desperate for a friend to play with and sneaks off to the “farm” where he meets Schmuel (Jack Scanlon), a jewish boy on the other side of the barbed wire. Bruno comes to visit Schmuel every day, bringing food to him whenever he can and playing games through the fence. The two boys realize their friendship is forbidden, but Bruno doesn’t see a bit of the “evil” that he hears his father talk about with other Nazi soldiers. He witnesses some of the horrible things done to the kind people he has met and begins to question the Nazi doctrine that’s been forced down his throat. His father is looked up to as a hero, but now Bruno isn’t so sure.


Bruno doesn’t know why his friend is behind the barbed wire fence, but every step he takes he gets closer to discovering the truth and losing his wide-eyed innocence. When he realizes Schmuel is in trouble, he vows to do anything to help -- even if that means putting on “striped pyjamas” himself and entering the concentration camp.


The director, Mark Herman, does a beautiful job of telling this chilling story in a way that makes you lose yourself in it. The gloomy lighting and hardly saturated colors capture the somber mood throughout the film, in addition to the perfectly chosen soundtrack throughout. The acting was remarkable, especially considering these 8 year old boys were cast in such heavy roles. The rawness of the relationships between the characters and a disturbing ending that ensured silence until the final credits rolled makes this a film I can’t stop thinking about.