One of the main visual images in the film is the idea of bars. This is to show Bruno’s feeling of captivity in his new house. This also shows how the Jews feel in their own “home” in the huts where they sleep. This is to help the audience feel what the Jews are feeling and to compare Bruno’s feelings with what the Jews are feeling. Their livelihood has been taken away and they are made to work, and then killed. Compared to the Jews feelings, Bruno’s feelings are almost nothing.
When Bruno falls of his homemade swing, he is helped up by Pavel (a prisoner of the camp), taken inside and then treated. We see the Jews in a different light and so does Bruno’s mum (Elsa) as we have only seen them doing work and being mistreated. Now we see them as kind because they are the enemies of the Nazis (who are mistreating them), you would think that when this happened, Pavel would just leave Bruno. But Pavel takes him inside and helps him. Later in the film we hear Pavel being beaten to death by Lieutenant Kotler because of an accident. This demonstrates the unfairness and sheer heartlessness of the Nazis. The camera angle when Bruno falls down is good because we see it through his eyes. This is effective because we also see the concern on Pavel’s face, which helps us as the audience even more to recognise the big and forgiving heart of the Jews. This camera angle also creates urgency and fear.
The image of the dolls all down “dead” in the cellar is a haunting visual link to the camp, where the bodies are put in mass graves before the crematoriums were used. It also signifies the death of Gretel’s childhood.
When Bruno runs through the forest to meet Schmuel we see the overgrown forest (a bit like “Bruno’s playground”) which has bright colours. When he runs through his “playground” a happy piece of music plays (like when he was playing with his friends back in Berlin) and this shows that he is not as happy as back then but is fairly happy meeting a friend. Then when Bruno emerges out of the forest we see the camp (which is like Schmuel’s playground) a barren land with nothing. We then start to compare the lives of the boys’. We see the contrast between the two.
The meetings between Bruno and Schmuel show us the contrast between their livelihood and life. Bruno is (most of the time) standing and Schmuel is sitting. This gives the audience the impression that Bruno has a higher status, being a Nazi, than Schmuel. Bruno is wearing colourful clothes and Schmuel is wearing the pyjamas that all the inmates must wear. Bruno is always full of life and energetic when he emerges out of the forest whereas Schmuel is exhausted from all the hard work he has been forced to do. All of these give us visual clues of the different situations the boys are in.
The fence shows us the divide between Bruno and Schmuel. The long shot of this shows how big the divide really is and a bit like two friends who are completely different. It is through the fence the friendship grows and it is when Bruno goes under the fence when he faces his end. Ironically, it is the fence which also stops the father from saving his son in time.
Propaganda was a main idea of the movie. The film, which Bruno secretly watched, highlights the cold-blooded nature of the Nazis and the depth of deception they had to use to actually help themselves to believe that what they were doing was actually good otherwise your mental instincts would take over and you would try to prevent these horrific crimes. The same goes for the German public. After Bruno watches the film he is tricked into believing that his father is helping the Jews and this makes him believe that it is safe over the fence. This foreshadows the terrible turn of events that are soon to come.
The last scene is an appropriate ending to the film because it puts Bruno’s father into perspective into what the Jews feel after they have lost loved ones in the camp. The despair, hurt, mourning etc.
When Bruno goes under the fence the storm is getting worse. This gives the audience a feeling of danger and that something bad is going to happen. Bruno is struck by the reality of the camp and how bad the conditions are (it is so different to what he sees on the film). The sounds of dogs barking, screams from inside the gas chambers and the shouting of orders from the soldiers. When Bruno and Schmuel are in the chamber they hold hands and that is the last we see of them in their united friendship. When it rains outside on the father, it shows that war affects all. At the very end we are left with the long shot of the gas chamber and the amount of pyjamas which are so central to the story. This lastly conveys the horror of the Nazis and their unbelievable cruelty to the Jews.
by
amaanebrahimrocketmailcom (student)
