The Book Thief

Movie Title--  The Book Thief

Release Year--  2013

Director--  Brian Percival

Cast--  Sophie Nelisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Nico Liersch, BenSchnetzer, Roger Allam, Heike Makatsch, Julian Lehmann, Barbara Auer, Rainer Bock

A young girl starts to steal books to read to the Jewish refuge that her adoptive German parents are hiding in their basement during WWII.

Death's voice (Roger Allam) starts to tell of his interest in Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse) as a train is charging down the track.  Liesel is traveling with her mother (Heike Makatsch) and younger brother (Julian Lehmann), on their way to be delivered to a foster family before their mother flees Germany for being Communist.  As they are traveling, Liesel's brother dies and he is buried next to the train tracks.  As the grave digger is walking away he drops a book and Liesel picks it up and keeps it with  her things.  

When the car bearing Liesel arrives at her new foster parent's home, her new mother Rosa Hubermann (Emily Watson) demands to know where the second child is because she was promised two children, then storms to the car and commands Liesel to get out.  Liesel makes no attempts to move now that Rosa has intimidated her, so an exasperated Rosa looks to her husband Hans Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) to coax Liesel out.  Hans walks to the car, peers in and says "Your Majesty", then offers his hand to Liesel who takes it.  As she walks into the house, she is noticed by the neighbor boy Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch), making an impression on him and the next morning he knocks on the door and says that his mother sent him over to walk Liesel to school.  However once out of earshot, Rudy admits that it was his idea to walk her to school, not his mother's.

At the start of class the teacher introduces Liesel to the students and asks her to write her name on the chalkboard.  Liesel is hesitant but eventually takes the chalk and and writes two X's on the board, signifying that she does not know how to read.  The kids then begin to bully her and call her "dummkopf", meaning fool in German, and one of the boys challenges her to read just one word from a book he is offering her and she responds by beating him up.  This impresses Rudy and the two of them become fast friends over the incident but when Rosa hears of what has happened, she is angered.

Hans soon learns that Liesel can not read but notices that she holds a book close to her at night.  He asks her if she knows what is written inside the book and she tells him no but she want to read it.  He tells her that the title is called "The Grave Digger's Manual" and then asks if she is still interested in learning what was in side the book.  When she answers yes, he tells her that he is not a very good reader so together they will teach each other how to read.  Once they are done with the book, Hans shows Liesel the basement which he has turned into a dictionary for her.

As the Nazi party begins to spread, Liesel and Rudy become members of the Hitler Nazi Youth.  One evening, all the citizens gather in the center of town where a huge pile of books sit.  After a speech, a Nazi soldier lights the books on fire and citizens begin throwing books into the pile.  The same bully that had given Liesel a hard time now hands both Liesel and Rudy a book and pressure them into throwing them into the pile.  Liesel is hesitant but she eventually throws the book into the fire and watches in despair as the books burn.  When it is done and the scene is empty, Liesel is standing and watching the books smolder when she sees one close by that is in tack.  She grabs it although there is a live ember still burning in the pages and shoves it under coat but now without being seen by Ilsa Hermann (Barbara Auer) the mayor's (Rainer Bock) wife.  When Hans discovers what Liesel is hiding, he takes it from her, shoves it into his coat and tells her that if she keeps it a secret they will read it together.

During the night of violence against Jews in Germany known as Kristallnacht, Max Vandenburg (Ben Schnetzer) and his mother are trying to find a way to escape the violence when a friend comes to the door with paperwork but only for one of them.  Max's mother insists that he be the one to go and he is told to seek out Hans Hubermann.  

Max finally stumbles onto the Hubermann doorstep, exhausted, starving and half dead.  They put him in the second bed in Liesel's bedroom and then Hans explains to Liesel that Max's father had saved his life during WWI and he is in debited to him.  She is also told that she is not allowed to say anything to anyone, not even Rudy because if they are caught they will be in trouble.  Liesel is then employed by Rosa to deliver the mayor's laundry to him that she is getting paid to wash.  Liesel arrives at the house and Ilsa recognizes her as, then shows her the library and tells her she can visit any time she likes.  Soon the mayor learns of this and puts a stop to Liesel coming to the house and cuts off the laundry with Rosa.  

Max recovers but fearing that he will be spotted moving around the house, they move him into the basement where he once again falls ill, this time from the chill.  As he knocks on death's door, Liesel begins to break into the mayor's library, "borrowing" books to read to Max, hoping it will help to encourage him to fight and come back from his illness.

I really enjoyed this film.  As a lover of books, I was saddened just as Liesel was when they set the pile of books on fire.  I found myself watching her journey and her love of knowledge feeling encouraged and joyful for her.  The beginning of the film helps you to feel a real connection with her and as the story unfolds, you want this child to succeed and overcome every obstacle in her way.  Sophie Nelisse does an excellent job of portraying this child on the screen.  Her performance to me is very convincing and although at times she seems to be void of emotion, the expressions on her face prove to the viewer that her feelings run deep but she doesn't make a big deal out of them in fear that she will give her or her family away and cause them to be persecuted by the Nazi party.

I am a big fan of Geoffrey Rush and I think that he did a great job in this film.  He didn't let his stardom overshadow the newcomer and to me it helped to enhance his performance.  Anytime he and Sophie were on screen together they seemed natural and genuine, unlike other adult/child performances that can tend to seem force.  I hated Emily Watson's character in the beginning but as the story moved along and the viewer gets a better look at her, Rosa becomes one of those characters that you shouldn't judge by her first impression.

Over all I would recommend this film to anyone looking for an interesting watch.  I will warn you, it does take place in Germany before and during WWII, so yes, it is sad.  You may want to keep a few tissues nearby for this film but Don't Forget the Popcorn!