The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

A couple of days ago I watched a movie called The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It's based on a book by John Boyne, and is about a boy named Bruno and his friendship with a Jewish boy called Schmuel (pronounced Shmall). Because his father is a Nazi soldier, Bruno and his family move to a new home which is next to a concentration camp. Bruno's father is basically the boss of this concentration camp. But Bruno doesn't know it's a concentration camp and thinks it's a farm. Seeing people there, he secretly goes there in search of friends and meets Schmuel. He and Schmuel become the best of friends, even though they can only talk through a barbed wire fence. I'm not going to ruin the ending for you, if you haven't watched it.
I think the most amazing thing about this movie is how it has incorportated the innocence of children. Bruno and Schmuel are too young and innocent to even understand the war waging around them, but they're still subject to its cruelties. Their actions are controlled by the desire to have loved ones close to them, and to be friends with each other. The ending is really unpredictable and had a really major effect on me. I haven't been able to get this movie out of my head since I watched it. It's been haunting me for days.

Sometimes I'm disappointed by humanity. Think about it, this war was designd to exterminate a whole race? of poeple, just because of what they believed in. Christians, Muslims, Jews... they all believe in a God. Jews say 'shalom', Muslims say 'salaam.' Muslims say 'amin' and Jews and Christians say 'amen'. But these differences fuel people's need to KILL OTHER PEOPLE?! One thing I don't understand is how, in World War II, the Nazis had the heart to kill so many children. Had the children done anything to them? Heck no! They didn't even understand why they were being killed! These people were gassed to death! WHAT A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE! And now there are people sitting in their homes DENYING the holocaust!
Well anyway, sorry for this massive rant. It's just that this movie really made me think. My opinions don't have to be your opinions, but I'm just saying... I'm horrified by what happened to the Jewish people. Nobody deserves to die for the God they believe in.
-thelazydreamer.