A Child and the Holocaust

I don't know what to say about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Some critics on Metacritic gave it 100; others, such as the New York Times, despised it. The film inspired such passionate reactions that I had to see what the fuss was about. I understand both reactions. More than once, I nearly walked out in disgust, but then I reminded myself that if I sat through Life Is Beautiful twice, I could handle this Holocaust/child take for 90 or so minutes. Right? Would I recommend it, though? I think I'm in the "no" group.

I'm still vacillating about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Based on a young-adult novel, Pajamas views the Holocaust through 8-year-old Bruno (Asa Butterfield), son of a Nazi general (David Thewlis), who befriends a boy in a concentration camp. Vera Farmiga stands out as Bruno's mother, physically and mentally unraveling after discovering her husband's work. Director Mark Herman doesn't flinch at the horrifying end, though the impact would've been greater with silence rather than James Horner's intrusive score. But several points defy logic, from the British accents to the camp's lax security to the dropped angle of Bruno’s sister’s anti-Jewish rhetoric. Mostly, Pajamas wants one to accept a lot about innocence. Bruno is 8, not 4 - is he really supposed to be that naive?