This film is about Bruno, the eight year-old son of a Nazi concentration camp commandant. Taken away from his home, his friends and his old life, Bruno is isolated with his family near the camp, which he things is a farm and then believes a propaganda film that the Jews are in something similar to a holiday camp. Bruno likes to think he is an explorer and sneaks out of the home compound to find an electrified fence. On the other side of the fence is the eponymous boy, Shmuel. They become friends and when Shmuel's father disappears, Bruno takes it upon himself to find him and digs his way into the camp where he experiences the full horrors of the camp at first hand. I won't tell you how it ends, in case you want to watch this fantastic film.
The film is well made and well acted; the gradual realisation of what is going on by the commandant's wife is well done. The two young leads are excellent and act the drama so well that it seems natural and not the usual stilted words that come from young actors. The film also shows us that there was dissent from many Germans about what was happening but I did feel that the film had perhaps been too heavily edited and I'm not sure about the ending. It felt too obvious and not in keeping with the subtlety of the rest of the film. But these are two minor criticisms and did not stop me from enjoying the film. I would certainly recommend this, but you should save it for a quiet night in.
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