The latest in a long line of Holocaust dramas, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is dark, intense, and entertaining throughout its story of a concentration camp commandant’s son and his newfound friend, a Jewish boy on the other side of the fence. This being said, in the end, I felt like I needed more than just a story – and didn’t get it. But I suppose there is room for this sort of thing – it is slickly filmed and acted, and all the right notes are hit, just not very groundbreaking. The film was made under the aegis of the Miramax name, which is sort of ironic, since, when the Weinsteins once owned it, they specialized in just this sort of film – kind of manipulative, and in the end, not very nourishing. – [DVD]
Drama/Thriller/War
Rated PG-13
DVD Release Date: 3/10/09