The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Wh-....But..... I mean.... I've heard of depressing movies, but this is just unfair.

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is the story of the Holocaust through the eyes of the young son of a high-ranking German Soldier during World War II. His sheltered existence and naivety help him see a young Jewish Prisoner as a friend rather than the vermin his Father and country see him as. As he gets to understand his new friend, he has trouble wrapping his head around why the young boy is supposed to be his enemy and tries to help him on the way.

This is a heartwarming and heartbreaking movie all at the same time. The innocence of the young boys juxtaposed with the monstrosity that was the Holocaust really puts into perspective just how difficult it was for young children on both sides of the imprisonment to comprehend what was really going on. The two young actors who played the German boy and the Jewish boy did so with surprising skill and understanding of what exactly each scene was about.

This has, without a doubt, one of the most depressing endings of any movie I have ever seen. It is painfully beautiful and horrible, and had me just staring through (not at) the TV screen once the credits started rolling. I don't even... Wow. Just wow. I'm I'm writing this literally 5 minutes after watching it and I am still in shock. The beauty of innocence and the horrors of war all in one.

My Heart Hurts!

My Grade: A-