The Book Thief (2013) is an American-German movie based on the novel of the same name. An Australian author Markus Lusak has written a book and it has been listed on the New York Times Best Seller list for over 230 weeks. Movie’s screenplay has been made by Michael Petroni and a director is Briac Percival.
I wanted to watch the movie with the good reviews and I decided to watch this one. Usually I’m not interested about war films but this sounded really interesting and different. So ”The Book Thief” is a war drama film about a young girl, Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), who moves to her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Film is mostly from the years 1938-1939, when the second world war began.
Movie starts really emotionally when Liesel’s real mum (Heike Makatsch) have to give her children away because she was a communist and fleeing Germany. The narrator, named as a ”Death”, (Roger Allam) speaks how Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) has piqued his interest. On the way to the foster family, Liesel’s brother dies and at his burial Liesel finds the book which has dropped by his graveside on the ground. I think that leaves to her a memory about last times with her old family. When she arrives to her foster family she’s really shy at first and can’t read or write. But Liesel really want to learn that. When she comes more familiar with her new family and neighbour’s young boy, Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch), she finally becomes more independent and actually nothing can’t stop her for wanting to read. Not even the Nazis who have prohibited books and burned them middle of the street. The Nazi book burning is a really important occurrence in the movie because Liesel has to throw grudgingly a book to the fire too. She decides to wait when book burning is over and when all people are gone. Then she steals a book which wasn’t burned from there but accidentally the Mayor’s wife , Ilsa Herman (Barbara Auer) , sees this happening. When Liesel’s understanding foster dad Hans Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) realized that Liesel can’t read, he teaches Liesel using the book she took from the graveside at her brother’s burial. Later in the movie, Liesel helps her foster mum Rosa Hubermann (Emily Watson) and take the laundry to the mayor’s home. Liesel finds out that Ilsa is the one who noticed that she was stealing the book from the bonfire and she’s scared because of that. However Ilsa shows to Liesel their library and tells about their missing son. She tells too that Liesel can read the books in their library whenever she wants. And after that Liesel starts climbing to the library through the window and ”borrowing” Mayor’s books. So that is how she becomes to ” a book thief” and starts loving books. Hubermann’s family is taking care of the Jewish refugee Max Vandenburg (Ben Schnetzer) who has escaped from the night of violence against the Jews (also called as a Crystal Night). Liesel shares books with Max who are really sick and tries to hide in their basement. She really likes spending time with him and they have great moments together in spite of Max’s sickness. Unfortunately Max has to leave away because the hard situation and everyone is scared will he survive.
I think the movie tells quite well, although basing on child’s perspective, which kind of life people of Nazi-era lived. People were scared but at the same time they were hopeful and loving. Even the small things were really respected. Some of the people supported the Nazis but some of them had to lie about that they support them even that wasn’t the real true. For example Liesel’s foster family had to lie because they weren’t the part of that Nazi group and they were taking care of the Jewish Max. Otherwise they could be taken as Jewish people, I guess, to the concentration camp. They had to be really brave. Because of movie’s sets it left gloomy image about their lives. I remember the movie about grayish colours and a poor circumstance. Liesel’s love on books and that cute crush Ruby had on Liesel made a film more delightful and adorable.
Through all these struggles with sickness, money, food, war and the Nazes, they seemed survived so well as possible but in the end of the movie just one night changed everything when the bomber started to bomb a town and nobody’s prepared to that. Even the movie’s end was really sad, it also had happy features when Liesel met Max again few years later in the tailor shop. Movie ends when Death tells about rest of Liesel’s life and how she became a writer after all this.
Every character was touchable in some way. Liesel came to the foster family with the hard past. Foster daddy was understandable for Liesel and even called her as a ”Royal”. Rudy was a little boy with a sweet heart and who wokes interest of Nazi Party Officials but because he didn’t want to join them, they take his father and that was really sorrowful.
The film has fifteen nominations and it has won four awards. One of the awards is from the Best Instrumental Composition and I can totally agree with that. John Williams have done great job with the composition. Sophie Nélisse has won three of them and I understand why. She acted brilliantly and fitted really well on her role.
This movie evoked many feelings on me. I felt happiness, joy, sadness and angriness. But I loved it even though it got me in tears especially in the end. The movie told about history but not at all that historical I was getting bored. It really hurt to see how things were but at the same time it was a great and touching survival story. I can recommend that movie to everybody who’s interesting in history, war or drama movies. This is absolutely one of the best movies I have ever seen. I can totally say those 131 minutes didn’t go waste.
Sources: IMDb, Wikipedia