Really Surprised!

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I loved the movie so much on first viewing that I went out and bought the book. One of those occasions however where the movie is better than the written word. It surprises me that it seemed somewhat overlooked when on first release. Yes it is a bit too sentimental in places but that is what movies are sometimes meant to be, to take us out of our drab existence. The soundtrack is excellent too and by John Williams of course. In time I expect this to be a Christmas Day movie.

It's heart may be in the right place but "The Book Thief" suffers mightily from the almost impossible task of translating a book which was basically about the power of words into a medium that is often at its best when it uses as few words as possible. When an illiterate young girl is adopted by a poor but worthy German family prior to the outbreak of the second world war her desire to better herself is aided and abetted by her adoptive father. As the influence of The Party grows the family give shelter to a Jew thus endangering all of them. That's about it,really in basic terms,but the girl and the fugitive from Nazism develop a friendship and he eventually leaves the house in order to protect them all. The village is destroyed in a bombing raid and only the girl survives. In the end,a bit like in "Titanic",we see the mementoes of her long life and history. It's all very standard stuff but somehow unaffecting when we should be in floods of tears. What happened to "Death"?Here he is an almost peripheral figure whereas in the novel he binds it together and adds to our understanding of the actions of the characters. And the German accents ?They were very much of the "Ve have vays of making you talk"variety and merely distracted the viewer.We know they're supposed to be Germans,for heaven's sake,this isn't "Hallo,Hallo!" where Herr Flick of the Gestapo is going to limp in slapping his leg with his baton. Mr Rush and Miss Watson were particularly guilty of giving us 1950s British War film Germans,but then they say there's nothing like a foreign accent as a prop an actor. I did want to like "The Book Thief" and I did want to be moved by it.Unfortunately I didn't and I wasn't.

I am reviewing this title as a person who read the book. As you know movies that based on novel, it is inevitable that compare film and book. Mostly characters in the movie does not comply with that you imagine while reading and this can disappoint you. We mostly like book except a few exceptions. I have a few criticism according to book. In the movie there is noting about Miss Holtzapfel. Whereas she is mentioned mostly especially late in the book. In the book it is mentioned some tragic incidents about her and her sons. Also Liesel goes to her and reads book to Miss Holtzapfel. Likewise not mentioned about Ilsa Hermann in detail. However she is a very important character in the book. Many times Liesel goes her house for stealing books and Ilsa Hermann noticed that. She leaves a letter to Liesel and say that she does not has to come in by stealth, she can come anytime that she wants. These details are not part of the movie. Except for these there are also some details that not mentioned or different according the book in the movie.Although some criticism above, generally I like the movie. The atmosphere of the book and World War II Nazi Germany is reflected successfully. I can say that casting is successful but I imagine Hans Hubermann younger. I recommend this movie but after reading the book. My rating is 7/10.

All too often one ends up on IMDb writing negative reviews for the plethora of trash film making that seems so common these days, combined with terrible reality television shows (cough cough Kardashians cough cough rubbish)...Anyways, for a change I found this film, and having recalled reading the book I thought i'd check it out.Really it is just one of those stories quietly told, the inner sadness of a girl given up, who along the way grows her inner strength, her joy at life and her compassion for others at the same time that she grows to love her new 'parents' and her friend Rudy.To be honest, I recall little of the book, I know I enjoyed it because I know I have a hard copy in a storage box somewhere, but because my memory is not what it once was I can't entirely compare the film to the book.... sorry.But I digress, the relationship with her new parents grows, Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson are up to their usual standard of amazing, Emily has always had the ability (to me) to play these quiet characters, understated, and yet you learn through her quietness the strength of self and the huge well of love she has, Geoffrey does something similar, through his quiet resolve, his determination to keep his family safe it is obvious that his character to is a well of love, compassion and warmth.Sophie Nélisse is a delight, a gorgeous girl who portrays a character of warmth, humour, fun, and that typical youthful wish to rebel. She is a delight to watch as she inhabits the character so well, and tells the story of her life so beautifully. Her evolution in life and her learning to love reading are to me so typical of many of us, it tells a truthful story in this sense.Nico Liersch is Rudy is also a joy, his not so secret love shows itself in unexpected places and lifts what could be a sad moment into one of happiness. He plays his character with a sense of wonder and curiosity about him, he appears to live life to the full and seems strangely apart from all the Nazi activity about him, no doubt this is more the script than the acting, but its a part I thought interesting.These two fine actors will I hope grow and become better known, if these is a early career highlight for them, then both seem to full of potential.Lastly, the narration, it is beautifully done, sometimes you don't really notice it but you absorb the words. The last narration is full of heart, of love and sadness and it makes you wonder if indeed some aspect of this narrators existence does exist - wouldn't we all love to know the answer to that?In conclusion, this is a gorgeous film, it tells stories of friendship and trust, of love and of loss, of humanity lost and found, to see it will remain with you, and to not spend the time seeing it is a pity for you will be the poorer for that choice.