‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’

In order to analyse the opening scene of The Boy in the Stripped

Pyjamas I will look at the different elements and will how they are used
to establish the characters, narratives and genre.

The film ‘The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas’ starts what a quote by John
Betjeman, ‘Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and
sights, before the dark hour of reason grows’. This quote essentially
sums up the whole film as it implies that children do not care about
your social status and do not care weather society approves of a
friendship but instead only cares about who you are as a person. The
two boys in this films become friends despite the trouble and torment
that is surrounding them in the outside world. This quote is in white
text set against a black background but it then fades to a red
background, when the credits start to roll. The background is blowing
in the wind as it is part of a flag but it is only as the credits continue
that we realise that this flag is in fact part of the Nazi symbol. This
instantly tells us that the film is set during World War II.

All of the boys that we see in the opening scene of ‘The Boy in the
Stripped Pyjamas’ are wearing short sleeved shirts and v neck tank
tops. This would suggest that people were uniformed in this era and all
wore the same style of plain clothes, showing how regimented it was
under Hitler’s rule. The other style of clothes that are popular in this
scene is the various men dressed in military uniform. By dressing up a
number of the cast in soldiers uniform this tells the audience that the
armed forces are a major presence in this world, this coupled with the
fact that the soldiers are seen taking people away in the back of a van
only brings home to the audience the fact that there will be serious
consequences for the boy’s relationship.

The mise en scene in the opening to this film helps show the divide
between rich and poor. We see a cramped block of flats where the
prisoners of war are being dragged out of by the police where as the
main character, who s wealthy, is seen totally ignoring what is
happening this point and instead runs past the prisoners towards his
home where we see close up shots of his possessions such as
expensive cutlery and crystal glasses. We also see shots of his maids
again establishing that he is wealth and status. This again helps
establish the contrast’s in fortunes of the two boys in this film.

Throughout the opening scene of ‘The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas’

there is a score that seems innocent and childlike, which sets the mood
for the rest of the film. The music is also Orchestral which creates this
grand atmosphere, which is in keeping with the surroundings of the
opening scene, particular in the house.