The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Short description
Set during the Second World War, the film follows Bruno, an eight-year-old boy whose family leaves their comfortable Berlin home when his father, a Nazi officer, is posted to a remote area of Poland. From his new house Bruno can see a fenced compound where the inhabitants all wear striped clothing, though no one explains who they are. Lonely and curious, he befriends Shmuel, a boy his own age living on the other side of the wire. Bruno understands nothing of the camp, his friend's imprisonment, or his father's part in it, and the two children form a bond across a barrier they cannot cross.
Mark Herman directed and wrote the screenplay, adapting John Boyne's novel. It is his fourth feature, arriving after Brassed Off, Little Voice and Hope Springs, and was produced by David Heyman. Asa Butterfield plays Bruno and Jack Scanlon plays Shmuel, with Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis as his parents, Rupert Friend as Lieutenant Kotler and David Hayman as Pavel.
Released in 2008, the film runs 94 minutes. It was made for about 13 million dollars and took roughly 40 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.7 from 272,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.8 from 7,840 votes, while critics' reviews average 6.5, noticeably lower than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Director and screenwriter Mark Herman recalled about filming the final scene that there were more lawyers, legal professionals, and various consultants on set than actors – all due to the need to film children among naked adults.
- The film is based on John Boyne’s novel “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” (2006).
- Initially, Rupert Friend had refused the role of Lieutenant Kotler – he was so shocked by the character's ferocious and cruel nature. According to his own words, he didn't particularly want to be associated with people intending to destroy an entire people. However, the actor subsequently changed his mind and agreed to film.
- Filming took place in Budapest.
- The name of the concentration camp is never mentioned in the film, but in reality, Auschwitz was the only concentration camp with four crematoria. SS officers were discussing the construction of a building in the commandant's office when their meeting was interrupted by the appearance of Bruno's mother.
- David Thewlis worked out at the gym every hour before filming began each morning to more easily get into the role of a soldier. Even if filming started at 5 a.m., he was already working out an hour before that.
- In the 2006 novel of the same name by John Boyne, which served as the literary basis for the film, Bruno dies in a gas chamber along with his friend, and his parents have no idea where he has gone. Only some time later did his father discover the boy's clothes near a hole in the fence, trace his movements around the concentration camp, and finally understand what had happened.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
