Virginia Woolf's VOICE

She sounds German to me!

Boy in the Striped Pajamas

What a softly tragic story of a German family who live near a concentration camp but only wonder at the strange "farm" activity nearby and stench from the smoke. It captures how some Germans were innocent even when their men were deeply involved. (Who could imagine?) Reminds me that disgust is an emotion that enables humans to do horrible things to each other. This movie demonstrates the difference in the heart between the conservative and that of the liberal. Specifically, it shows how paternalism and nationalism corrupts when mixed with hatefulness. With the Holocaust as a back drop, this is really a movie about friendship and innocence, and, while tragedy occurs, a kind of restitution (between the boys), awakening (for the mother) and comeuppance (for the father) occurs that feels right.

I didn't think there was more to say about the Holocaust, but I was wrong. The Bush Years show that Americans are ever forgetful of the horrors perpetrated by soldiers who hear tacit approval for torture from leaders and encourage revenge.