"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" is a fictional story that offers a unique perspective on how prejudice, hatred and violence affect innocent people, particularly children, during wartime. Through the lens of an eight-year-old boy largely shielded from the reality of World War II, we witness a forbidden friendship that forms between Bruno, the son of Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jewish boy held captive in a concentration camp. Though the two are separated physically by a barbed wire fence, their (more...)lives become inescapably intertwined. The imagined story of Bruno and Shmuel sheds light on the brutality, senselessness and devastating consequences of war from an unusual point of view. Together, their tragic journey helps recall the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.

• Official Web site

Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic material involving the Holocaust

Length: 93 minutes

Released: December 5, 2008 Nationwide

Score: 3.5

Cast: Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Richard Johnson, Sheila Hancock

Director: Mark Herman
Writer: John Boyne, Mark Herman
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Miramax