Herman uses many strategic methods to create the emotional and dramatic setting of the film. The soundtrack consists of a wide variety of music causing diverse effects on the audience, for example we find as we get to parts of the movie that are causing tension or feeling, the music becomes very meaningful by slowing down and getting lower. This effects the movie in a very extensive way as the small accessory is extremely effective through catharsis. The movie begins in a carefree lively setting with a crimson Nazi flag coming across the screen and the soundtrack high spirited to attract the audience and show the setting of young Bruno’s home and show the happiness of Bruno’s lifestyle and the lifestyle of the Germans in Berlin, yet when Bruno is told he has to move house the music deteriorates and Bruno’s facial expressions show a sudden plummet. This shows the impressive acting by such a young boy and we send credit out to the casting directors and Butterfield for this.
The setting and clothing seems as though it is has been carefully investigated as they are very accurate and suit the era of the time. Bruno’s new family home is precise down to every last detail and specifically built to be an exact replica of the real house that was owned by the chief of Auschwitz. The clothing is thought out thoroughly throughout the whole movie, the soldiers uniforms perfection to every small pin point detail and the clothing of the family showing their upper class status in their perfect and rich clothing in contrast to the ‘pyjamas’ worn by the workers.
The lighting effects were creative and helped show both worlds contrast drastically even though the separation is only an electric fence. Herman uses lighting to add effect to the characters such as Shmuel being created to look like a monster, this is done by using dull dusty lighting shining up on Shmuel showing a strong shadow and appearing as though he is an animal kept in a cage, we also get this impression of Shmuel when we see the barb wire fence in front of him on camera to show he is captured in this camp. We also see a good use of lighting as the family start to separate and their happiness dies. The views inside the house become dull and dim showing difference between their gleeful emotions of living in Berlin to their heartbreaking miserable lives in Poland.
The tale – ultimately a subtle but profound examination of regret, freedom and discovery – is packed with incident, good lines and delightful performances (including Butterfield as main character Bruno). The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is a leap from Herman’s usual comedies and musicals such as ‘Hope Springs’ and ‘Purely Belter’ both his most recent movies before The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. As such a highly rated movie we can find that The Boy in Striped Pyjamas has been compared to many other aspiring war films such as ‘Schindlers List’ and ‘Piano’, both movies at a high level for The Boy in Striped Pyjamas to run with, but we are sure to know that Herman has succeeded in getting the movie up to perfection, however although the film is accurate on such a large amount of other props and lifestyle etc. we find that there are the small errors making this astonishing tale become unreal as the facts included in this film about Auschwitz decompose to find that children were not actually accepted into Auschwitz but killed when entering the camp making the film inaccurate, yet this doesn’t affect the effect of the film unless seen by the precise, Auschwitz historian who may point out this issue although we doubt it would affect the viewers of this impressive movie.
Verdict
With 2 wins (Audience Choice Awards and British Independent Film Awards) and 4 nominations (British Independent Film Award, Goya, IFTA Award and Young Artist Award), this film really reaches expectations of a new unknown director taking us into the lives that we can’t imagine experiencing. Vera Farmiga winning Best Actress category at the British Independent Film Awards shows the standard of acting other films come across competing with, we find she delivers the most memorable performance along with a strong supporting cast.
