Not a "Happy" movie watched on my Birthday

So, today is my birthday. I know, "Happy Birthday" ... it's obligatory, whether you care or not, you have to say it right? O.K. I'm a cynic. Most people really do care that you have a happy day, but I think it really has become one of the many niceties that we have a knee-jerk reaction to without thinking what we are really saying. But that's not the point of what I want to say here.

Today is my birthday. So to celebrate my wonderful wife took me to a movie of my choosing. Now, there aren't a whole lot of movies showing right now that I was excited to see, so I opted for one that I wanted to see but knew would be heavy and sad. Oh, well, what's a guy to do. You only get so many chances to see a movie in the theater when you have a baby at home.

So the movie we went to see was "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas" If you haven't seen the previews, it's a historical fiction about a boy who's father was Commander of one of the Concentration camps during the Holocaust. (spoiler warning - if you read the synopsis on the official website it says way too much about the plot of the film - so I suggest waiting until after the movie to read it). I went in knowing it would be a heavy and sad movie, but I wasn't quite prepared for this. The ending of the film was a shot to the gut and I'm certain that anyone who walks out of the film having not cried has to be the reincarnation of Hitler himself. It's sad, Period! There is no getting around that.

I will also offer that it is an AMAZING film and one that everyone NEEDS to see. Like Passion of the Christ, Schindler's List, and other such movies, it's necessary, especially for younger generations, to know about this part of history and think about how stories like this resonate with current events.

There are SO many amazing aspects of this film. Some of the choices in shot selection really speak volumes to messages being conveyed. Some of the storyline choices ask multiple questions (not just, "how could the Nazis do this?"). Some of the aspects of the film draw you into a story that you otherwise thought you were not a part of.

If I haven't said it enough, I really think this movie is amazing. I've already been thinking about ways that I could use this in a congregational setting. It certainly fits an Ethics class, but churches could surely use this film and conversation within small group and education times. I could even see preaching a pretty challenging sermon series with this film.

So, my summary about the film is that it will make you think, it is excellent. I've probably never said this about a film, but I would go as far as to say it is our responsibility to see this film!