Among the stories relating to the holocaust and WWII, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is one of the most compelling. A young boy in the concentration camp befriends a young boy outside of the camp. The boy outside of the camp happens to have a father that is an officer in the SS. Despite their differences, the boys become great friends. Providing the score to the sad-yet-beautiful film is James Horner. Despite the fact that, in the latter half of the decade, Horner has only scored a small number of films, he managed to come onto the project with as much ease and flexibility as some of his earlier projects.
Generally, regarding a film about the holocaust, most composers would approach the subject as mellow as possible. James Horner, however, scored the project rather eclectically, somewhat like how he surprisingly approached Titanic nearly 10 years before. The score consists mostly of a piano, with occasional hints to the orchestra. 'Boys Playing Airplanes' is a light and fluffy track which sets the tone to the entire score to come. Other than the piano, the score barely uses any other instruments up front, for example the trumpet solo in 'The Funeral'. Occasionally Horner delves into some of the more darker material, highlighted in the 9-minute track 'Strange New Clothes' (which features great string material).
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is easily an emotional score, but not in the traditional sense. Rather than reflect the darker material in score to represent the topic at hand, Horner expertly provides some beautiful music that never depresses, but rather inspires. As far as Horner's music for the later part of the decade goes, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is easily one of his best efforts. Definitely a nice addition to the James Horner collection.