The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas(2008)

Not since Schindler's List, has there been a film so emotionally devastating! It's takes place in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Bruno is an 8 year old boy, whose father is a commander in chief of the Nazi's. They move from Berlin to a huge mansion in the German countryside so that his father can "work". The father, played coldly by David Thewlis, keeps all of the practices of the Nazi's hidden from his family, even though the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, is only a mile from their home. Bruno yearns for a friend more than anything, as his older sister is only interested in being the perfect "Aryan Youth". He ventures into the area where he is forbidden to go, and finds the outer fence to the camp. Here he meets Shmuel, the same age as him, and a prisoner. They develop a close bond, and play, on their respective sides of the fence everyday. Bruno has no idea what is going on, and Shmuel doesn't know much more. But when Shmuel's father goes "missing", Bruno decides to sneak into the camp to help him find his father. I will not spoil the ending, but let me say this, it is NOT HAPPY! It is one of the most downbeat endings that I have ever seen. But it goes with the theme of the film, and I can't recommend it enough. Films like this need to be made and need to be seen all the more, and the truth is not always pretty!