The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ***1/2

Seen on DVD.
Directed by Mark Herman.
Based on novel written by John Boyne. 
Screenplay by Mark Herman.
With Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Zac Matoon O'Brian, Domonkos Nemeth, Henry Kingsmill, Vera Farmiga, Cara Horgan, Zsuzsa Hoil, Amber Beattie, Lazlo Aron, David Thewlis.
Released in 2008.

I have often bemoaned the fact that media for children should have a different rating scale as it is almost impossible for any book or film to have the subtlty, nuance or profundity that an adult work has.  Here is a case in which my theory is proven wrong.  This is one powerful movie.  I feel that it transcends the childrens' film genre.  Of course it should be said that this is hardly a kids film.  You don't want to set your 8 year old in front of the Tv and let him/her alone.  It would either bore them becasue of the complexity or scare the dickens out of them.  The only thing about this film that slightly resembles a typical kids' movie is that it is told from the point of view of an 8 year old.

Why do I like this film?  Just becasue it is so hard hitting.  The childrens' part are very believeable and there are lots of small, subtle moments in the film.

A German boy, Bruno, is taken to the country during WW II so that his soldier dad can take over his duties at his new assignment.  That of commandant at a concentration camp.  Bruno discovers, unwittingly, the camp and attempts to make friends with a Jewish boy on the other side of the fence.  Both boys are especailly good at portraying their innocence, but the boy in the camp is especailly good at portraying a mix of  innocence and hopefullness, while also demonstrating a wary, traumatized persona.  The two boys just don't understand, even the Jewish boy who has gone through scads of trauma doesn't understand the enormity of the situation.  I'll skip the ending, but I'll just say that it's gut wrenchiung tragic.  The hope is that the adults have learned a heavy and hard lesson.

And I think the mother does.  When she first moves into their new abode, she is wary of the Jews.  She saw no problem in the idea of the camps, though she didn't want it in her backyard.  When one of the Jewish servants helps Bruno with a cut on the knee, she reluctantly thanks him and reluctantly becomes a little more human.  She is very upset when she finds out the true mission of the camp and she and her husband have a serious argument over it.  I guess it was ok to imprison the Jews, but not to massacre them.

A strongly reccomended film!

Here's a trailer...

Waltz With Bashir (Vals Im Bashir) ***

Seen on DVD.
Released in Isreal 2008.
Directed and written by Ari Folman.

This is a flawed film in many ways. It's slow, and confusing. But I admire the intent and the ambitions of the director to make this film the way he wanted. For that reason i rated this film 3 stars in stead of 2 1/2 stars.

First off, it's a documentary but it is an animated film. This animation allows the film to show some eerie and spooky, settings. It's also an interesting premise. The director is trying to remember his involvement in the invasion of Lebanon and subsequent massacre that happened in 1982. He does an excellent job of getting to the psyche of the people he interviews and their memories of the war. For some reason the limits of the animation techniques they used, made people move very slowly which contributed to the slowness of the film. The film makers understood this and instead of trying to hide this fact, they embraced this limitation. The characters tend to float off into space making them seem ghostly. This adds to the level of psychological confusion and angst of the film.

So, the story is that the director is interviewing old veterans of the Invasion of Lebanon. He seems to have forgotten the whole incident, especially those moments of the massacre. He is curious or perhaps more precisely, haunted to know (he doesn't remember) just what his role in this massacre was. So we learn the stories of many of his comrades and the emotional trauma they had went through during the war. Eventually he closes in on the people who were there ( I believe the Lebanese town was laid to siege) at the massacre. What is discovered is that the Christians were mostly responsible. They entered the town and took care of things themselves. There's a hint that it might have been a retribution for the assassination of their Lebanese presidential candidate Bashir (hence the title of the film). But the Israeli army is not entirely off the hook. After all, they witnessed it all. The foot soldiers and lower ranked officers did try to report it, but the upper echelons of the Israeli army either told them not to worry and that nothing was happening, or they said they would do something and instead looked away from the atrocities.

One of the most interesting aspect of this animation as documentary is the ability to reenact the stories of the veterans. Because it was animation, the filmmakers could craft how they thought the incidents really happened and could dramatize it with out silly actors or such. It actually added a dimension of reality to it.

Here's a trailer...

It Feels So Good When I Stop ***

By Joe Pernice.
Published in 2009 by Penguin Books.

I'm so far behind in this blog. I read this book about a month ago and the library wouldn't even let me renew it because I had renewed it too frequently. So I have forgotten names and details. But it's Thanksgiving weekend and I'll have a little time so maybe I can catch with some short and sweet entries.

Joe Pernice (the author) is part of the musical group The Pernice Brothers, who were before that called The Scud Mountain Boys. I should say a few words about what I know about these groups. My impression was that these groups were Americana or alternative country music. When I bought my first Pernice Brothers' CD, I was disappointed. It was too smooth and poppy for me. I was expecting something grittier. Their earlier incarnation, The Scud Mountain Boys was only slightly better.

So I wasn't sure what to expect from this author, but I was happy to read this book.

It's the story of an everyday man / slacker and his romantic life. At the beginning of the book, he had just broken up with his wife of 3 days, and simultaneously, his sister was divorcing her husband who our hero was still friends with. In fact he helps the ex-husband take care of his nephew (the ex's son) though he had never had any responsibility of any kind previous to this.

So our slacker man ( I do remember he was never named in this book so as to give him a feel of everyday man) tells his tale of two times. He tells both what happens to him AFTER the break up and the events that transpire BEFORE the break up. A nice structure, though it was confusing at first.

He describes how he and his future wife get together and then details their life together. Nothing traumatic happens that point to the future break-up but there are signs that there is trouble. His girlfriend seems to circulate in more sophisticated circles than him. She works for a fashion magazine. Though when she is with him, she seems to be pretty down to earth. The narrative eventually leads to the day they break up, but it's not clear why, though we do find out that it was his idea. Was it nerves? A feeling of inadequacy? (they were in Paris - a fancy place for an everyday man). The ending only hints at these possibilities.

Then there is the narrative that follows the break up. He starts to look after his nephew and he meets a woman who has had a tragic event happen. She lost her son (I think he drowned). She wants to make a documentary honoring her lost son. Our hero decides to help her (he is conveniently unemployed - a slacker). During the course of making the video, they learn about themselves and each other. And even though romance does happen, it is certainly doomed from the start, though I think both characters came out better for it. And I think the characters would agree that though doomed, the relationship was worth their time and effort.

So over all the book has a positive, hopeful feeling, which I liked also. I might have to go back to the Cd's and at last listen to the lyrics, even if I didn't care for the music. He clearly knows how to tell a narrative. I be this songs have good narratives too.

Here's an excerpt from the book.



And here's a song that may or may not be a soundtrack for the book.