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Rating: 2.5 out of 5
In my reading quest to read more books, I was looking at PBS’s Great American Read List. It had the top 100 books that PBS thought were great. While looking at the list, I saw The Book Thief was ranked #14. Intrigued, I decided to read it. I heard some things about it in the respect that it was told from Death’s point of view. I thought it would be a gloomy book about Death walking around on Earth and talking about people stealing books. After reading the book, I was impressed and fell in love with the book. By having Death as some type of figure or person, it narrates the whole novel and presents its perspective in a world during World War II. While Death is talking about souls and world events, he becomes infatuated by the adventures of young Liesel Meminger and periodically checks in occasionally. The book is fantastic, and when I saw the movie on a streaming service, I had to watch it and see if it could come close to holding up like the book.
The film is based on the 2005 novel by Markus Zusak, which follows the life of a young girl named Liesel Meminger during Nazi Germany in World War II. The book is narrated by Death and told from the perspective of the many lives and characters during the war. The film starts off in the cold winter of 1938. Liesel Meminger (Nélisse) is traveling with her mother and younger brother. During the train ride, her brother dies and is buried in a cemetery by the tracks. It is a sad moment for Liesel as she is being delivered to her foster parents. During this moment, Liesel “steals” her first book, “The Gravediggers Handbook,” which was left at her brother’s grave. Liesel is dropped off at her foster family in a small ass town. He is greeted warmly by her new stepfather, Hans Hubermann (Rush), and strict but caring stepmother, Rosa Hubermann (Watson). Liesel goes to school, and we learn that she cannot read. When Hans discovers this, he teaches her using her book, and Liesel becomes an obsessed reader. As Liesel’s life adapts to her new world, Nazi rule is growing. During a Nazi speech, the community is forced to burn books in a bonfire. Liesel manages to recover one book and hide it in her coat as she starts to smoke. The mayor’s wife notices this but doesn’t tell anyone. At the same time, the Hubermann hide a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg (Schnetzer) from Nazi imprisonment in their basement. As life goes on, Liesel’s life changes when she delivers laundry to the mayor one day. There, the mayor’s wife invites her to her library, and reads as many books as she likes. Liesel is happy, but the threat of war will soon affect everyone she comes to love.
I have mixed feelings about this film compared to the book. The book was phenomenal, and I loved how Death narrated the whole book. It gave a unique perspective of the life of one little girl but also how Death sees wars and human life. The book draws you in because of this perspective. The film, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. I know Death is a primordial being with no appearance, but the film almost completely wipes it out and only has small narrations from Death. It would’ve been far more interesting having Death watching Liesel but having different appearances. I don’t think the black cloak person wandering around would’ve been that appealing. Death had a sense of humor in the book, and hearing its thoughts on subjects was far more interesting.
The film was okay, but not something I would watch again. It touched upon the main points of the book, like when Liesel came and lived with her new family and how she took her first book. This is where it diverts from the book. I believe Liesel stole a few books to read and learn from. It just seemed like it was this one book where she put in her coat and started smoking because her clothes were catching on fire. This was the essence of the whole book. It was seeing what Liesel would get her hands on. Some of the books were all over the place in terms of genre and subject.
The film also held back on the realization of Nazi Germany. It didn’t have to go balls to the wall with Nazi Germany because the book didn’t. It glossed over the fact that it was a bad time in the world. Max comes to live with them, and the film never really states why. If you did World History, you know why because Max was Jewish and hiding, but the film never went deep into the subject nor had a sense of fear for Max’s life. Hitler’s Youth movement was prominent in the book, with many of the kids joining, but it was one scene with the book burning, and that was it.
What I liked about the film was the relationship between Liesel and Rudy. Rudy was an excellent character because it seemed like he didn’t see color. Homeboy wanted to be like the great Jesse Owens and trained his heart out to be like him. He was one of the best friends Liesel could have. I like that the film puts most of his good deeds in by jumping into the river to save Liesel’s book, trying to get a kiss, and even going with Liesel to get money but also stealing a book. Rudy put the heartwarming parts of the book.
Now that I think about it, Hans and Rosa were equally good. Hans was an exceptional father figure who saw the wrong in the war and everything. I liked how they showed him going off to war because he was against it, but the reason why was spot on in the book. I felt like the film held back on Rosa. She was a hard but loving woman in the book, and the film toned her down. She was one of the reasons the book was so good. Rosa demanded a lot from her family but also had one of the most caring hearts. The ending was like the book, which still rocks my heart because it was out of nowhere.
Regarding the acting, each one did a decent job of holding this film up as best as they could. Sophie Nélisse as Liesel Meminger was a delight to watch. Even though she was the film star, she was a little bit too quiet for me. There were scenes where she was clearly overshadowed. One of those people was Geoffrey Rush as Hans Hubermann. Rush commanded the screen in a fatherly figure. You could tell that he had a warm and caring light about him. Rush knows how to act and bring out the best in people. I also enjoyed Emily Watson as Rosa Hubermann. She held her own as the character. One of my favorite scenes was when she rolled up in Liesel’s school, and everyone feared her. She was the queen in the neighborhood and played zero games. I wish the film showed more of her because she was at everyone and spoke her mind. I want to give special props to Nico Liersch as Rudy Steiner. When Nico was on screen as Rudy, you knew you were either going to laugh or have a fun moment. I love his Jesse Owens scene.
The film version of The Book Thief is okay. The film has its moments of recreating the book, but it fails to fully capture the book’s essence. It would’ve been fun to really see Death shadow the main character or even go to other parts like in the book. The acting was up to par and was one of the film’s highlights. Please read the book before watching the movie.
