Domande frequenti

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 novel by Irish novelist John Boyne. Boyne claims to have written the first draft of the book in all of 2½ days. The book was adapted for the screen by director Mark Herman.

Bruno (Asa Butterfield) is the 8-year-old son of a Kommandant (David Thewlis) of a Jewish concentration camp. He and his family live just outside the camp, and Bruno is very much alone. Across the fence in "Out-with", Bruno's term for "concentration camp", he can see people wearing striped pyjamas. One day when Bruno is bored silly by his tutor, Herr Liszt (Jim Norton), he goes exploring and meets a boy named Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), one of those people who always wear striped pyjamas. Seeing as they're both lonely and would like someone to hang around with, they quickly become friends.

This oversight does score some points against the movie, and it's not entirely clear why this was done. It is possible the British who made this film couldn't find German-speaking actors. As a result, making the film in German would require subtitles in English, so viewers would actually have to read them, which isn't ideal.

Schmuel's father goes missing, so Bruno offers to help find him. The next time they meet, Schmuel brings an extra pair of pyjamas and Bruno digs a hole under the fence in order to get into the compound. It begins to rain. The boys, along with several other prisoners, are rounded up and marched off to the showers, which they believe is just a place for them to be sheltered from the rain. Meanwhile, Bruno's mother (Vera Farmiga) notices that he is missing. She alerts his father, and they go looking for him. While his mother and sister (Amber Beattie) search the yard, eventually finding the hole under the fence, his father enters the camp and makes it to the gas chamber. It is too late.

To Americans, "pajamas" is the correct spelling. To the British, "pyjamas" is the correct spelling. Since this story was written by an Irish author and filmed by a Brit, it's "pyjamas".

It is clear that Maria is not a Jew, but the german maid for the family. She lives in the main house, is clean, dressed well and the interactions and that the family, especially Mother show that she is treated well. If she were a Jew she would have been treated like Pavel.