I did not expect, in the first minute of “The Book Thief”, that I would be reminded, rather heavy-handedly, of the fact that we all are going to die. This cheerful beginning is just the first of a series of drops from the voiceover narrator, aka: “Death” throughout the film. And all of them are both distracting and unnecessary. For, even though this story is set in Nazi Germany prior to and during WWII, “The Book Thief”, at its core, is about love, family, and how relationships can survive even through difficult times.
Based on the beloved international bestseller, which is also narrated by Death, “The Book Thief” stars Sophie Nelisse as young Liesel Meminger. As the film begins Liesel’s mother is taking her and her younger brother by train to live with foster parents in Germany. Death makes an early appearance, taking the young boy. At the conclusion of the burial service in a field near the train tracks, Liesel picks-up a book that was dropped by one of the gravediggers. This begins her fascinating with books, even though she cannot yet read. Her foster parents, who are “adopting” her simply for the money they’re being paid, are tough-as-nails Rosa (played by Emily Watson) and light-hearted and caring Hans (the great Geoffrey Rush). He and Liesel bond quickly and he makes it his goal to teach her how to read.
All this time war (and Death) is looming over their small town. Liesel becomes best friends with neighbor and classmate Rudy and a few years later a fourth member joins their family. The appearance of Max, a Jew desperately hiding from the Nazi’s, will change the lives of Liesel and her Mama and Papa dramatically. The situation also inspires Liesel to become the title character. Now a good reader, she begins to borrow books from the home of a German military official so she can share them with Max while he’s hiding in their basement. Yet, hovering over every event in her life, large and small, is Death, waiting to make another appearance.
“The Book Thief” is a sweeping historic drama with mixed results. At times the story wanders and director Brian Percival tries too hard to squeeze an emotional reaction from the audience with every scene. However, the entire ensemble cast is first-rate, led by Nelisse, who holds her own with veterans Rush and Watson. This could be a star-making performance for Nelisse, who has far too many crying scenes, but that’s not her fault. Percival tries to balance the somber tone of the film with some humor, mostly coming from Rush’s Papa. Many of his scenes with Liesel are tender and quite moving.
If you loved the book, then maybe the structure of the film – with Death reappearing every so often, gleefully describing his latest achievement – may not bother you. Since I hadn’t read the book, this became an issue for me. The biggest problem is that the narration is so infrequent. I wish Percival had either decided to go with full narration throughout the film, or none at all. And the melodramatic final 10-minutes do not work at all.
“The Book Thief” is rated PG-13 for mild war violence and language. It’s appropriate for teens and up. There are parts of this film that will stay with me, but, unfortunately, as a whole, the film falls short in its effort to become a classic.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “The Book Thief” gets a solid B.