But seeing the dark underbelly of humanity through the eyes of an innocent child is always going to be particularly difficult.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas draws on John Boyne's hugely successful novel, to tell the tale of eight-year-old Bruno who befriends an inmate at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

But Bruno is no prisoner, he is the German son of a Nazi Commandant who, newly promoted to run the camp, moves his wife and daughter Gretel from their luxurious Berlin home to a bleak countryside house.

Feeling suffocated by his new life, and curious as to the ‘farm’ he can see from his bedroom window – where the workers ‘always wear stripy pyjamas’ – Bruno is compelled to explore further afield.

He soon meets Shmuel, a Polish boy of his own age who lives a parallel yet alien existence on the other side of the barbed-wire fence, but the boys’ friendship soon grows, bringing with it devastating consequences.

Boyne 's short novel is aimed at teenagers, but has attracted a legion of fans – myself included – for its haunting and childlike perception of an adult-perpetrated monstrosity.

Directed by Mark Herman, the movie looks to remain faithful to the spirit of the original.

The factual evidence of the Holocaust is out there for all to see, but the message somehow hits harder watching an innocent child learn what his own father is helping to orchestrate.

The film's visuals are colourful and simple, perhaps too much – the camp often looks more like a farm than a den of hell – and Shmuel seems too plump to be a starving inmate.

However, the story is about seeing a corrupt adult world through innocent eyes, and also reflects the veneer of normality the Nazis tried to daub on their own actions.

But storyline and sets apart, what gives this film an identity of its own is the absolutely stellar cast it is blessed with.

David Thewlis is on the one hand the powerful and ruthless soldier, intent on delivering Hitler’s vision, yet on the other, a loving husband and dad.

Even the young but brutal Lieutenant Kotler conveys an underlying unease about the Nazi vision.

Vera Farmiga is the voice of reason and brings a huge motherly heart to the film – her disgust at the situation, yet helpless realisation that change is futile, is horrifying to watch.

But it is two stunning performances from Asa Butterfield (Bruno) and Jack Scanlon (Shmuel) which make this film go from brilliant to sublime.

Some critics have said having both boys speak in English accents (as do the rest of the cast) spoils the overall effect. But perhaps this is the point of the film - the boys’ forbidden friendship embodies acceptance over the divide, so identity should not and does not matter.

The convincing bond between the pair makes the restrained yet brutal finale heart-wrenching. Having read the book, I thought I’d steeled myself enough to watch what was coming.