“childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows” – John Betjeman

The boy in the striped pyjamas is a film directed by Mark Herman set during World War 11, it is a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, a son of a commandant of a concentration camp whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence which has startling and unexpected consequences.

Released in September 2008 the boy in the striped pyjamas is distributed by Miramax films a company that distributes independent and foreign films. The film was also produced by Heyday films a British film production company.

The budget of the film was a very small amount, of £12.5 million which shows that the film is an independent British film as the budget isn’t as big as a Hollywood blockbuster.

About The Boy in the Striped Pyjama’s

The setting is established by the camera moving in through ‘Nazi flags’ onto a town square in Berlin. This camera shot is a an aerial view of the town square which then swoops in to show the characters in the opening sequence of them pretending to fly. This links to the genre of the film, the Nazi flags, the town square of Berlin and the children pretending to fly, could show the genre of the film, which is about the war.

Characters are established by running through the town square, showing the innocence and vulnerability of the children during the second world war. Other characters are established by the journey of the children running through the town going past people sitting on the town square, navy and war soldiers sat on the benches and in the war transport. The characters being established like this shows what the children see.

Establishing characters and setting

Actors in the filmThe actors and actresses in the film are all British actors but are not well known as the film is independent.

Starring

Asa ButterfieldJack ScanlonDavid ThewlisVera FarmigaRupert Friend

Asa Butterfield is the star actor as he plays ‘Bruno’ in the film, he is also known for the knew film that is out in cinemas called ‘Hugo’ and is set to be starring in a film in 2013 called ‘Enders Game’.

In the opening sequence of the first two minutes, both non-diegetic and diegetic sound is used. Music is put over the top of the establishing shot, the music is classical and shows the age of when the film was set, showing that it is not set during recent times in history. The non-diegetic sound is used by classical instruments playing over the scene, but the non-diegetic sound is used when the children run into the town centre making noises of planes. There is no dialogue within the opening sequence which may show that they want the audience to look at what is going on and the journey of the children and not concentrating on what the characters are saying.

Sound

The font is presented in a very simplistic font with the colour of white which shows that the life of the people the film is focused on is very simple. Also the colour of white represents innocence, which shows the innocence of the boy that the film is focused on. White also resembles peace, which is where the film contradicts

itself because it is about war, which is about violence and fighting. The quote at the beginning of the film is also presented in the same font and colour as the credits which pull the audiences more towards the quote and actually read what they are saying. The background of the title at the beginning is red which could

also suggest the blood shed of the war and the people in the concentration camps.

Font and Credits

Camera Angles and EditingMost of the angles in the film are establishing shots of what is going on. They use a follow shot of Bruno as it is his journey that the viewers are going on. The aerial shot also shows the children ‘swooping’ through the town square which is exactly what the children are doing. The editing cuts back and to from the house that he is travelling to and the journey he is taking to get there. The editing shows continuity throughout the opening sequence and this makes it easy for the audience to follow and understand.

Other camera angles are also used like close up of certain objects the director wanted you to pay attention to, for example the glasses that the maid is cleaning, links to a very substantial part later on in the film including other characters.

Lighting- The lighting in the opening sequence is very natural as they use lighting from the exterior shot in the town square. Props- Props used in the opening sequence are very significant to what goes on in the latter stage of the film. For example, the cups being cleaned by the maid links to what happens when the young boy Bruno meets has to clean the cups in the commandants (his fathers) house. Costume- The costume of the characters in the film, suggest that this film is set within the time of world war two, using the uniform of the two characters on the bench in the square as they are dressed in army uniform. Also the costume of the family the film is focused on suggests that they are wealthy as they are wearing tailored suits and jumpers and dresses.Setting- setting of a town square in Berlin shows that the place of the film is focused around this country and the time of the war but it being set in Germany doesn’t necessarily show the audience that this is a British film.

Mise-en-Scene

Target Audience

Age- the age range of this film could vary being as it is quite an educational film the audience could be from the age of 16 and over, the film includes very emotional and serious scenes of something that really happened and therefore this film may be watched by adults to show the holocaust in a lighter way. Although this film could be watched as a family and therefore the age widens, this may also be watched by students for educational reasons.

Nationality- this film is a British independent film and therefore the nationality is English although it is based on a European event the film wouldn't necessarily be widely viewed by a German audience but it would be shown over there. The actors are British and is distributed by a British company so therefore the nationality of the film and audience is English.

Occupational/Social role – the social role in this film is to educate the audience about the holocaust and ww2, therefore teachers may use this film to educate their students for a history lesson or they may use the novel version of this film to use a literature piece in schools too showing that this film may be used for educational and occupational reasons rather than viewing at a weekend with friends.

Gender- the film is for both genders as the film isn't necessarily aimed at a certain gender in particular but the female role in this film would be based around mothers and how they bring up their children around certain situations. The male gender focus in this would be to show the male in a powerful and evil way which may be the reasons for men going to watch this film as it shows a father taking control of his family in the most horrendous way.

Reason for viewing- people may go to view this as they no it is a tear jerker and may upset the audience because of the event it is based around, they may also go to view this film for get information about the holocaust and see how many young boys in the concentration camps were treated making them feel sympathetic towards them.

Media Institutions and distribution

‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is a drama, history, war film directed by Mark Herman. The certificate on the film is a 12A most probably because it has scenes that children may find upsetting and therefore adults have to buy the children's tickets to watch the film and accompany them in the cinema. The film was first released in the UK on the 28th August 2008 at the Carnegie film festival and was officially released in the cinemas on the 12th September 2008.

Film Companies.

This film is co-owned by Miramax, Heyday Films and BBC Films, showing a co-ownership in this film could maybe suggest the success of the film.Walt Disney also have a link with this film as they have helped distribute the film also as they have obviously said that they will sell the film depending on the success of the film. They will sell this film by home entertainment too, showing they will sell it on DVD to consumers.

Links.

The links between the target audience and the institutions is the fact that BBC Films is part of the BBC, as the BBC are there to educate people as well as inform, which show that the target audience for this film may be teachers or students as they may be wanting to watch the film to educate and inform them about history of the war.

As far as I can see ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ I cant see any history of the film being shown on sky from the research I have done, but I have watched it on Film4 on Freeview TV at 9.00pm at night for a late night film, even though the film is a 12A this still may be shown post watershed. The film has also come out on DVD too and has made $12,180,316 in DVD sales.