• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
'Must watch' WW2 film on Prime called ‘saddest movie of all time’ sparked outrage for one key reason

Home> Film & TV

Published 00:08 11 Jul 2025 GMT+1

'Must watch' WW2 film on Prime called ‘saddest movie of all time’ sparked outrage for one key reason

The film has an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

A World War 2 film has been deemed one of the saddest movies of all time by its fans but actually faced quite a lot of backlash when it initially release.

Since the end of World War 2, many storytellers have attempted to capture the horror of one of the worst mass conflicts in human history.

While many have the favorites that they feel capture the brutality and ruthlessness of the conflict through showing military campaigns, one film decided to take a different approach.

The popular film released in 2008 and focusses on a young German boy, Bruno, who is the son of a nazi commander.

Advert

Bruno eventually comes across a concentration camp and befriends a holocaust prisoner, Shmuel, who he visits regularly.

The film has been called the saddest movie by fans (Miramax)
The film has been called the saddest movie by fans (Miramax)

For a film that takes place during the conflict, following the changing attitudes and appearance of concentration camps, through the eyes of a child was certainly an interesting choice, but added to its controversy.

The film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, has received praise from viewers and maintains an impressive 85 percent popcorn meter score on Rotten Tomatoes and is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Advert

In the Facebook Netflix Bangers group, multiple individuals named it as one of the saddest movies of all time, while discussing things to watch on streaming.

However, despite its positive reception, the film, which is based on the book of the same name by John Boyne, faced quite a pushback when it was released.

Some critics felt it focused too strongly on the nazi commander’s family and his navigation through nazi politics rather than the plight and horrific treatment of the Jewish prisoners.

The Holocaust Centre North charity wrote an article about the ‘problem’ with the film.

Advert

They wrote: “Because the focus of the story remains on Bruno’s family, the book does not engage with the main tragedy of the Holocaust: that none of the people in the gas chamber should have been there.

The film drew contrversy for focussing on the nazi's family (Miramax)
The film drew contrversy for focussing on the nazi's family (Miramax)

“Due to the way in which Shmuel’s character is portrayed in the novel, his character doesn’t engage the reader’s sympathy in the way that Bruno does. Shmuel represents the 1.5 million children murdered by the Nazi regime in Auschwitz-Birkenau... yet the reader’s sympathy is directed towards a Nazi concentration camp commandant and his family.”

This criticism of the book and by extension the film, is likely reflected in the Rotten Tomatoes critical score which maintains a percentage of 65 percent.

Advert

With that said, many have still regarded it as a ‘must watch’ for the intriguing child-like perspective in one of the worst acts of genocide in recent memory.

On a Reddit thread discussing the film, one user wrote: “Brutal movie, especially the ending. Definitely a must watch.”

Another added: “Great movie. Definitely a must watch.”

With a third agreeing and writing: “Great Movie, hugely underrated. Also sad so beware.”

Featured Image Credit: Miramax

Topics: History, Film and TV, Streaming, World War 2

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • 'Must watch' documentary that 'can't be ignored' has 'amazing ending' but is set to leave streaming in just days
  • Netflix users only have days left to watch 'haunting' movie that cemented director as 'master of horror'
  • ‘Highest rated’ WWII movie with ‘sickening 25-minute sequence from hell’ is the ‘most disturbing film’ viewers have ever seen
  • Netflix viewers praise 'must-watch' new movie that left them 'crying like a baby'

Choose your content:

an hour ago
10 hours ago
17 hours ago
a day ago
  • Prime VideoPrime Video
    an hour ago

    100% rated Prime Video series is ‘terrific in every way’ as fans beg for more

    Fans described it 'a true slow burn'

    Film & TV
  • Prime VideoPrime Video
    10 hours ago

    Olivia Colman Prime Video drama labeled 'perfection' as it lands 100% ratings

    It has been called 'one of the best comedies of our generation'

    Film & TV
  • Oceanic Preservation SocietyOceanic Preservation Society
    17 hours ago

    'Must watch' documentary that 'can't be ignored' has 'amazing ending' but is set to leave streaming in just days

    The documentary released in 2015 and looks at how mankind has impacted many species

    Film & TV
  • RLJE FilmsRLJE Films
    a day ago

    Disney+ subscribers given deadline to watch MGK and Megan Fox movie viewers love

    Critics weren't so fond of the movie, though

    Film & TV