Unit 4: Literacy (b) Film Reviews Guidelines for writing a film review:


Te guidelines for writing a film review are similar to those for writing a book review. Te major differences are: l Instead of referring to the author, you refer to the director of the film. l You name the lead actors who play the different characters in the film. l You could refer to costuming, makeup, set-design, music, special effects etc.


Sample film review s T


1. This review is based on the novel which was reviewed on page 148. Compare the film and book reviews and make a list of the differences.


The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, directed by Mark Herman, offers us a fresh look at the horrific atrocities of the Holocaust. In just 90 minutes, it manages to create heart- breaking poignancy similar to that of ‘Schindler’s List’ or ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’.


Bruno, played by Asa Butterfield, is a German 9-year old. His father (David Thewliss) is an SS officer who runs a concentration camp. The drama unfolds through the boy’s innocent, confused eyes. Part of the power of the film is due to the fact that we, the audience, know what is going on whereas Bruno does not. We understand the significance of the death’s head on the collar tab which his father wears.


The city setting in Berlin, where Bruno plays happily with his friends, is captured well in the opening sequences but the location changes dramatically when the family move to the countryside near Auschwitz. Bruno, who thinks the place is called ‘Out-With’, can see what he thinks is a farm from a window that his mother (Vera Farmiga) has sealed. He can see what he believes are the ‘striped pyjamas’ of the inmates - pyjamas similar to those worn by Pavel (David Hayman), the frail old man who works in their garden.


Loneliness and curiosity drive Bruno to explore beyond the bounds of his garden fence. He discovers a quiet, unguarded area of the fence where he meets Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy his own age who is equally confused by the events taking place around him.


Mark Herman directs the film using a simple, uncluttered style which heightens the profound impact on the viewer. He allows us to see the horror of the Holocaust through the unknowing eyes of a child. We see Bruno peeping in the door as his father and other soldiers watch a Nazi propaganda film about the camp. We sense his fear of the brutal staff officer (Rupert Friend) who describes Jews as being ‘evil’ and we can almost smell the smoke which Bruno sees curling from the chimneys in the death camp.


The film focuses on complex emotional issues of evil and the Holocaust, and raises questions about the nature of man. I found it disturbing but deeply thought-provoking.


I would highly recommend The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas to anybody over the age of 13.


My rating is 5 out of 5 stars. 149


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