Review of The Book Thief (2013) by Martin R — 12 May 2014

[5/13/14] "The Book Thief" is a delightful, innocent film that takes place in World War II during Nazi Germany, perhaps a bit too delightful given its setting, at least, until the very end. It's not a bad film, I found it to be a pleasant to watch, although at times, I had to force myself to keep watching.

Despite not knowing how the movie would play out, I didn't feel a lot of tension during the scenes that were meant to constrict the nerves a bit. The ending was obviously a bit of a shock but then again, when the narrator of your movie is Death--you KNOW someone is going to die eventually.

Nice job spoiling your own movie, eh? The cast does all right, particularly the actor who plays the protagonist's papa--he's easily the heart and savior of the whole movie. John Williams' restrained but moving score stands out during the more emotional scenes; I bring him up because the score is really why I rented this film from Redbox.

Overall, this is a nice little work of cinema that could easily be shown to children when that time comes to first explain the Holocaust; it's basically the G version of Schindler's List (Oh, and what a coincidence, John Williams scored that one too) [yes, I know "The Book Thief" is PG-13].