BLINDED BY STRIPED PYJAMAS

THE British Board of Film Classification continues to leave me dumbfounded.

Having questioned its 12A certificate for The Dark Knight as soon as I saw it, I would say they've probably got the 12A right for The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas which opens on September 12.

And yet, in its extended verdict on why it came to that decision, the BBFC comments that the film's gas chamber scenes contain "images... that some may find upsetting".

This is the understatement of the year.

I am so fascinated by the way this film could and should be a Schindler's List for 12 to 15-year-olds that I've managed to catch it twice already - specifically to see if my eldest daughter, now almost 11, is ready to learn more about one of the darkest chapters in human history.

On balance, I think not, even though she has read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

In this instance, the 12 in this 12A is about right.

My daughter will be left to enjoy the innocence of her childhood for some time yet - not for me the idea that a 12A means you can take even a five-year-old to see Hellboy II as some cruel parents have.

Although The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is being distributed by Disney, its sensitively-handled but extraordinary power left me shaking both times, even though I've recently watched a lot more gruesomely explicit scenes in other movies seeking to offer cheap 'thrills'.

In terms of pure tension, it probably equals anything that we've seen since Se7en more than a decade ago.

The national charity Film Education should see to it that every teenager in the land is given the chance to see The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas at the earliest opportunity. It can only do them good.