It's a movie that's become a part of a treasured watch list in our family along with "To Kill A Mocking Bird" and "Mississippi Burning"; movies with a strong moral message that gets us talking and discussing. My boys asked to see this one and it fills me with joy when my children want to see movies about moral issues.
Right now we're discussing the tutor that was hired to teach Bruno and Gretel. Those that have seen the movie knows how it ends and the tragic death of the colonel's son is rich in Christ typology, but that's a deeper subject which my 11 and 6 year olds aren't ready for.
The tutor was sent to teach the children German nationalism, the struggle of white people, and the threat of the Jewish race. 12 year old Gretel ate it up, becoming a model Nazi daughter and imbibing the hate she was being taught and repeating it. 8 year old Bruno rejects it, not accepting that Jews were vermin, evil, and must be destroyed.
AND I'M SO PROUD OF MY 11 YEAR OLD! .......who picked up on the fact that Bruno instinctively rejected the hate he was being spoon fed by this evil Nazi tutor. I told my boys that's what I want for them, to recognize evil when they hear it and to reject it, to not listen to anyone who tries to teach them to hate.
But it also goes to the deeper discussion of salvation, those souls that know and embrace the love of God versus those who reject it. We're talking about children, none of whom have any deep theological training or religious convictions. One of them took in the hate and the other rejected it. It reminded me of the passages of 1st John that talk about the children of God and how they are manifest and the children of wrath and how they're manifest. It was the first time we allowed our 6 year old to watch the movie, and he was terrified of the ending, how the two boys died holding each other in the midst of several other men who were also being exterminated. My 6 year old wanted to know if the two boys were going to heaven. I told him yes, and I told him why.
What an awesome movie to use to teach children with!
