The Book Thief
“After all, the book succeeded because of a unique narrator in the form of Death, and there is really no way to re-create that character effectively on screen, as far as I could tell.”- JeromeWetzelTV
The book thief is one of the few written novels narrated by death itself. Death sees all these commotions and tragic occurrence in Germany, but what grabs deaths attention is Liesel Meminger, also known as the book thief. During this period, Germany is in World War II, Liesel finds comfort by stealing books that would help her live on to a new foster family. Liesel learns to read and write with the help of her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Huberman. After Liesel got sent to live with her new family, she meets Rudy. A young German boy around Liesel’s age, they have the time to get to know each other and even get to share feelings for each other throughout the story. Even with the trust that these two young kids share, Liesel does not find the right time to tell Rudy about Max, the Jewish guy living under the Huberman’s basement staircase. The Huberman family, Max and Rudy risk getting caught by the Nazis officers patrolling the streets and the households of Munich Street. The final risk that they all take is getting bomb during World War II, Liesel is left behind by Hans, Rosa, and Rudy.
Sophie Nelisse, the actor that plays Liesel Meminger, is considered as a good actor to play Liesel’s role in the movie. In my point of view, she was an amazing actor; it’s just that the physical appearance shown in the movie is not the same as I pictured it in the book. Many of the actors such as Geoffrey Rush (Han’s), Emily Watson (Rosa), Nico Liersch (Rudy), and Ben Schnetzer (Max) were really good actors. They poured their souls into being the actual character that they were assigned, but what could have improved would be the physical appearance. Having them look more like how they are described in the book. Other than that everything was simply astonishing, especially the last scene of the movie, where Liesel watches her closest friend Rudy, die right before her eyes.
Overall “The book thief” is one of my favorite book and films. A story based on a young girl that lived in fear during World War II, and the perspective of how life was lived during that time period.