The Book Thief

For a book that everyone raves about, the movie based on it isn't that greatest. I always like to see movies set during wartime from the perspective of people who lived on the other side (this case being Nazi Germany), but Schindler's List already topped that list for me. And this movie isn't Schindler's List, a movie that made a grown boy cry.

Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) is taken away from her communist mother to go and live with another family, Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson). Liesel is eager to learn how to read and with the help of Hans, she eventually does. One day, a young Jewish man, Max (Ben Schnetzer) comes and begs Hans to help hide him from the Nazis, which he does.

Overall, I found this movie to be quite bland. It glosses over quite a few aspects of Nazi Germany and though it isn't a film about Nazis, it is a film about books and the Nazis did have a particular hatred of books and intellectuals. And while there is a book burning scene, I felt as though the film could have gone into more depth over the distrust of intellectualism.

None of the performances from the older actors were particularly noteworthy in this film. I know Geoffrey Rush is a good actor, but I have never really liked him. His portrayal of Hans Hubermann lacked a certain finesse that he brings to other roles.

However, there was one performance that stuck through the rest and that was Sophie Nélisse, which is lucky, because the majority of the film has to be held up by her performance, which was fantastic. I feel as though she has a bright future ahead of her.

Verdict: A not-so-great look at Nazi Germany. I haven't read the book, but since seeing the movie, I don't want to.