Based on the beloved international bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, an extraordinary and courageous young girl sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany
Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) in The Book Thief
The Second World War might have been long ignored by Hollywood, but no more.
And so, after Colin Firth’s splendid The Railway Man, George Clooney’s misfire The Monuments Men and Russia’s homegrown IMAX blockbuster Stalingrad, here’s another flashback that’s seeking well-intentioned depths beyond the carnage.
In fact, given that The Book Thief is from the multi-Oscar winning ‘Life of Pi studio’, it could be heralding a new era of spiritual cinema which seeks to offer alternatives to limb-shattering shocks.
Based on the bestselling novel by Markus Zusak, the story begins gently in the clouds above a billowing stream engine with Death (Roger Allam) narrating.
When and where will Death call for the souls of the living in wartime?
Australian star Geoffrey Rush (Shine) can be irritating, but he splendidly leads the cast as Hans Hubermann, husband of Rosa (an admirably plain Emily Watson, who played Rose in War Horse).
They are the adoptive parents of newcomer Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), who is befriended by Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch).
Learning to read with encouragement from her new family and Max, a Jewish refugee they are hiding under the stairs, Liesel takes to sharing the escapism of books with others.
Directed in measured fashion by Brian Percival (Downton Abbey), The Book Thief feels like a Sunday afternoon drama that deserves to be seen any night of the week.
The two child leads are arguably too angelic, but their performances mean that this film, like The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2008), is one that all film-literate children aged 10 to 16 should be taken to see on the big screen.
Now aged 82, John Williams’ latest score is, incredibly, his 49th Oscar nomination. Five times a winner (including Jaws, ET and Schindler’s List), he’s second only to Walt Disney (22 wins from 59 nods).
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