Review of The Book Thief (2013) by Biju B — 06 Feb 2015

Based upon the 2005 book by Australian author Markus Zusak, and adapted here by Michael Petroni (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) and The Rite (2011)) and directed by Brian Percival (TV's The Ruby in the Smoke and Downton Abbey), this is a powerful war drama that has an overriding feeling of hope and survival throughout, and it has a brilliant cast too.

It begins in 1938, when illiterate Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) is sent to live with foster parents Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa (Emily Watson), as her real mother (Heike Makatsch) is a Communist fleeing the Nazi's.

While Rosa is a tough woman, Hans is a kindly man who helps Liesel to read, she also becomes friends with Rudy (Nico Liersch), and they become members of the Hitler Youth movement. Meanwhile, Hans and Rosa take in Jew Max Vandenburg (Ben Schnetzer), and hide him in the basement, meanwhile Liesel takes books from the house of Ilsa Hermann (Barbara Auer), to read, after stealing a book from a book burning bonfire.

It's a different kind of war film, which scratches the surface of the horrors of Nazi Germany, but doesn't go into graphic detail. But it is a beautifully made film, very moving and touching, and it's topped off with a lovely score by John Williams, which adds to the atmosphere, but it does play it a little too safe.