See It Or Leave It

The Book Thief (B-)

SYNOPSIS:

The persecution of Jews during World War II was one of the most horrendous things to come out of the war. As terrible as it was, another extermination was happening, roughly the same time that had it's own place in the horrors of war. The purging of literature. The Book Thief, weirdly enough narrated by death, begins with a young girl named Liesel Meminger who is taken from her parents and given to another German family to be raised. Without reason Liesel is thrown into a completely different lifestyle and family unaware that she may never see her parents again. Her foster parents, the friendly and mischievous Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and the stern and strict Rosa (Emily Watson), adopt and quickly adapt Liesel to the lifestyle under their roof. Liesel is unsure and nervous about her new situation but finds comfort in a young boy named Rudy, who she befriends on her way to school. Sadly, at school Liesel is picked on by her classmates for her inability to read an write which comes to the notice of her new father Hans. He decides to take it upon himself to teach her how to read and write and soon they find themselves staying up late reading the only book she has, The Gravediggers Handbook.
But the thrill of reading books is quickly overshadowed by the ceremonial Nazi book burnings of any literature deemed unpatriotic to the Nazi government or of Jewish descent in any way. The public book burning takes an emotional toll on Liesel after she is peer pressured into throwing her one and only book into the flames. Later that night, she sneaks back to the burning pile of books and steals a book somewhat saved by the flames.

Then one night a mysterious figure named Max (Ben Schnetzer) shows up at the front doorstep of her families home. He turns out to be a Jew looking for the sanctity of their house and the fulfillment of a promise made by Hans many years ago. They agree to invite him in and hide him in their basement. Suddenly, Liesel has more important things to worry about than books, as the persecution of Jews becomes more rampant in their city and being caught hiding a fugitive in their home becomes an ever growing possibility.



REVIEW:

The Book Thief is a somber movie that actual deviates itself much from it's title and shows the toll that the war and Nazi government took on German citizens. This part of the movie is done at a surprisingly realistic and saddening approach that sets the movie apart. Unfortuantely, as realistic of an approach this is, it is still a major detour from what the preview and book title seems to hint.

Now I have not read the novel, "The Book Thief" by author Markus Zusak, and I can not accurately say how close the film followed it's novel predecessor but the title itself leads me to believe that the story centers around Liesel and her willingness to steal books to expand her knowledge and her ability to read. Yet we find Liesel stealing books only several times throughout the film with the story hardly ever revolving around these moments. The burning of books was played up to be such a horrendous moment for the country, and it was, only after the burning does the story begin to revolve around the hiding of the Jewish boy Max more than anything else.

Putting aside this major sway from the central plot, the film succeeds in almost every other area. I applauded the performances of Geoffrey Rush who plays the amusing and lighthearted Hans, and Emily Watson who sheds her English accent and any indication that she ever wears makeup to play the stern Rosa. They deliver rather outstanding performances that only develop more and more as the war gets closer to home. The films most outstanding performance comes from our main character Liesel played by the 13 year old Canadian Sophie Nelisse, who not only captures the characters appropriate reactions of her tumultuous experience in the war but does so in a convincing German accent. I have a feeling we will be seeing more and more of her on the big screen as time moves forward.

The look of the film is shot in a way that limits what is seen and known by the characters of the film. In the midst of a propaganda filled country, the war slowly creeps closer and closer at a steady pace until there is no hiding from it. In the midst of the war was one of the greatest atrocities ever committed; the mass genocide of the Jewish community in Europe. This too creeps up on our central characters until they find themselves hiding and protecting a Jew themselves. Director, Brian Percival and Cinematographer Florian Ballhaus are able to invoke so much angst in the unknown leaving the viewer to wonder just what type of fate might meet our main characters. Will they be caught by their Nazi counterparts, or will the pending war finally creep up on their society? Brian Percival also effectively communicates the film through the eyes of children, specifically the Nazi Youth and how life might have been for them. With only a few minor setbacks in direction specifically involving special effects and an all too staged truck explosion, the direction and cinematography comes through.

On a side note the entire film is narrated from the perspective of death and his interest in Liesel. After doing some research, I found that the book which the film is based upon, was also narrated from beyond the grave. Now this may have been an effective tool in the novel but is completely out of place in the movie. In staying true to the book I can understand putting in such narration but when death seems to pop up out of nowhere and the story being strong enough to support the plot without an explanation of what is happening, I felt this portion of the adaptation could have easily been left out. And don't even get me started on the ending of the movie. A quick homage to Liesel and her life after the events of the film indicates the trueness of the story, however is told as if we had connected to Liesel over her entire lifetime and not just the few years we are with her in the movie. Reluctantly, these are still minor details to take away from the film and ultimately the story winds itself to a memorable and unforgettable conclusion.

After the movie was over I could not help but ask myself how nerve racking and downright scary it must have been to have risked your life and those of your family for hiding an enemy of the state in the midst of a growing war. This is the main feel I took away from The Book Thief. Unfortunately this is a blatant divergent from the actual plot line that is originally presented in the beginning of the film. In doing so the film almost loses it's entire identity and shifts to an Anne Frank story narrated by death. If the film had been able to mix the two successfully it would have been considered in much Oscar talks, but will fall short of this. I'm sure most viewers will be able to look past that, given the type of material being presented in this movie, and that's okay. It is sill an excellent reminder of the horrors of war and the unimaginable atrocities that were committed against the Jewish community, which can never be forgotten.



OVERALL: (B-)

Directing (B-)
Brian Percival

Script (C-)
Michael Petroni

Acting (A-)
Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Sophie Nelisse, Ben Schnetzer

Cinematography (B)
Florian Ballhaus

Set Design (B)



SCENE TO LOOK FOR:

A Nazi youth choir singing in unison a German song about the extermination of Jews. This scene was chilling, shocking, and in your face. More surprising is the fact that the voices singing the song are those of young children, naively reciting the words ignorant of the terrible meaning behind them. This is perfect example of how low the German society had sunk an how brainwashed the citizens had become during the reign of Hitler. Not only was the murder of innocent people allowed to be sung as if it's was a national anthem but it's voiced and propagated through the mouths of children. It does not get much worse than that.

SHOT TO LOOK FOR:

Liesel stumbles into a group of Jews being escorted from the city. As she runs through the crowd, the camera moves through the line of people, presumably being escorted to their deaths, with a ghost like quality. It's rather haunting as we see the somber faces of the persecuted being led away. Not a single person stands out as they all look the same. And it's here, where you can take a good moment and ponder the millions of lives, senselessly lost to the hatred and genocidal thinking of a monster.