Netflix viewers are in floods of tears over ‘heartbreaking’ movie that’s incredibly emotional watch

People have taken to social media to share their recommendations for a movie which they say had them in 'floods of tears'.

While some films are heartwarming or for a rainy day, others tackle far more serious subject matters.

Among them is the 2008 historical movie The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, based on the 2006 novel of the same name - both of which are works of fiction.

It follows the story of Bruno (played by Asa Butterfield), an eight-year-old boy from Berlin who is sent to occupied Poland during World War Two.

His father, an SS officer, is promoted and becomes involved in the running of an extermination camp.

At the centre of the story is Bruno's friendship with Shmuel (played by Jack Scanlon), a Jewish boy who is being held in the camp.

Viewers took to the Netflix Bangers Facebook Group to share their thoughts on the 'heartbreaking' film.

One wrote: "This was an absolutely amazing movie... and I hate to say that I loved it because it was also absolutely devastating."

Another replied: "Brilliant movie I cried so much."

A third posted: "One of the most horrifying and great at the same time."

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Someone else praised: "I've cried more than 3 times in this movie, such a masterpiece."

While a final user commented: "Seen it so many times and cry every time great film but breaks my heart."

Despite its strong reception with audiences and critics, the film and book have been panned by historians over 'dangerous inaccuracies and fallacies' of the Holocaust.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum roundly dismissed both as a way of learning about the Holocaust, saying in 2020 that they should be avoided by 'anyone who studies or teaches about the Holocaust'.

Historians have also criticised the characterization of Bruno, the son of a Nazi commander.

They argue that Bruno's naivety perpetuates the harmful misinterpretation that civilians in Nazi Germany were ignorant of the atrocities being carried out.

In fact, repeated historical studies have shown that civilians were aware both of the general persecution of people in the Holocaust and that the Nazi state was murdering people.

Miramax Films

Holocaust Centre North lists several alternatives for people wanting to learn more about the Holocaust, including animation Survivors of the Holocaust and books When Hitler Stole my Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr, Hitler's Canary by Sandi Toksvig, and The Dairy of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

In response to the criticism, the novel's author, John Boyne, said he 'treated the subject matter with great care in my novel, although readers are of course free to feel differently'.

He told The Guardian: “As a novelist, I believe that fiction can play a valuable role in introducing difficult subjects to young readers, but it is the job of the teacher to impress upon their students that there is legitimate space between imagination and reality.”