In the film “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, the story is told about the forbidden friendship of an innocent child during World War II in Germany. Despite all the inhumane treatment meted out to the Jews in front of this young boy, his character is extremely naive to the reality of what the Nazis are actually doing to the Jews. The overall message that the director and screenwriter portrayed so well is that of innocence and friendship. What you expect to feel in a film centered on the Holocaust is compassion and outrage, which I did several times, but the British accents and a few small details continually reminded me that this was a fictional story. For me, the film was thought-provoking and entertaining. The director did a very good job of showing a different view of the Germans during World War II, but I felt that it didn't have the same eerie feeling as other films based on the Holocaust. The main characters are Bruno and his family, consisting of his mother, father and older sister Gretel. There are other notable characters, such as Shmuel, Bruno's grandmother and grandfather. The significance of each character becomes clearer and clearer as the story unfolds. The characters were very well chosen, for example Bruno is played by a little boy with black hair and bright blue eyes, almost reminiscent of Hitler himself. I found this very profound, perhaps even deliberate. Shmuel is also short for his age, his head is shaved but you can tell he has light brown hair. He uses a calm voice when he implies that he is hungry, drawing compassion from the audience. The actor who played Pavel (the oldest Jew who worked in the Bruno family kitchen) was the perfect age and type. If he didn't speak English, you could imagine him trapped in the middle of his paper. The innocence of the two boys can be seen as a tragedy or a blessing. Ignorance ultimately leads them to death, but all on the same path, towards life. Throughout the film, the British accents continually remind you that you are watching fiction. Even if you try to think of the German family as real, you know it's not. Despite the lack of connection, the director manages to offer the audience a more unique and interesting point of view. It is time that we take a different look at some tragedies, allowing a person's mind to explore other feelings and be entertained in various ways, even going so far as to learn from the innocence of a child in chaos and in friendship. Works Cited Boyne, John. The boy in the striped pajamas. Books by David Fickling; 1st edition (2008), 2006. The boy in the striped pajamas. By John Boyne. Real. Mark Herman. 2008. DVD.