The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

This was an interesting film about a young boy whose family moves to a home right next to a concentration camp during WWII. The young boy's father is a Nazi officer who works at the camp. The boy, through exploring when no one is looking, discovers a young Jewish boy at the edge of the camp near the fence. The two become friends and this movie is about their friendship and the young boy trying to understand why he is told to believe that Jews are evil. This movie is very moving, although I was very disturbed by the fact that these Germans had British accents of sorts, but otherwise it was good storytelling. I did not see the ending coming the way it did and was in shock for a bit after watching it. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is another good rental, but I highly recommend doing something light-hearted or uplifting after watching it is rather depressing.

Anne Frank Remembered

I also watched the documentary "Anne Frank Remembered" this weekend. It was truly phenomenal. The eighth graders I work with right now are studying Anne Frank and it was so awesome to get to hear straight from the mouths of those who were there and knew Anne and experienced some of what she experienced. It is such an incredible way to learn the story of Anne, the Holocaust, and The Secret Annex. It even inspired me to go out and buy "The Diary of Anne Frank" which I have never read before and start reading it. I'll comment on that once I'm done reading it. Check out "Anne Frank Remembered", though. The time spent watching it is definitely well spent.