Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this intense World War II-set drama follows a young boy whose father, a German officer, has moved the entire family close to his new assignment -- running a death camp dedicated to the mass extermination and murder of Jewish prisoners. The boy befriends a prisoner on the other side of the wire even as his teachers and parents explain to him about how "the Jew" is the enemy. Given the subject matter, the film -- which culminates in a room full of people being killed with poison gas -- could be difficult to watch for viewers of any age. There's also some drinking and smoking and concentration camp violence.

Sexual Content

Affection between a long-married couple; non-sexual, waist-up male nudity as concentration camp prisoners strip for a "shower."

Violence

Guards brandish guns; prisoners are threatened with guns, clubs, and dogs. A beating is administered off screen. Discussion of a supporting character dying during an English bombing raid. The mechanisms of mass extermination are seen in action, including a sensitively shot yet still devastating sequence in which a room crammed with concentration-camp prisoners is gassed.

Language

One non-sexual use of "f---ing" extensive use of "Jew" as an epithet.

Social Behavior

Extensive discussion of the German attitude toward and treatment of Jewish prisoners during World War II, including deliberate, dehumanizing language. Discussion of anti-Semitic philosophies and ideas. Discussions of duty to one's country and race.

Consumerism

A Mercedes logo is visible on the hood of a car.

Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol

Characters drink hard liquor, champagne, and wine and smoke cigarettes and cigars (accurate for the time period).