The Book Thief (film)

The Book Thief is a 2013 war drama film directed by Brian Percival and starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and Sophie Nélisse. The film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Markus Zusak and adapted by Michael Petroni. The film is about a young girl living with her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Taught to read by her kind-hearted foster father, the girl begins "borrowing" books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee being sheltered by her foster parents in their home. The film features a musical score by Oscar-winning composer John Williams.

The Book Thief premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3, 2013, and was released for general distribution in the United States on November 8, 2013. The film received mixed reviews upon its theatrical release with some reviewers praising its "fresher perspective on the war" and its focus on the "consistent thread of humanity" in the story, with other critics faulting the film's "wishful narrative". With a budget of $19 million, the film was successful at the box office, earning over $76 million.

The Book Thief received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for its score. For her performance in the film, Sophie Nélisse won the Hollywood Film Festival Spotlight Award, the Satellite Newcomer Award, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Female. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 11, 2014.

Plot
In February 1938, Death tells how a young girl called Liesel Meminger had piqued his interest. In one of the opening scenes, Liesel steals her first book, titled The Grave Digger's Handbook, after her brothers death, when it falls out of the gravedigger's pocket. She meets her new foster parents Rosa Hubermann and Hans Hubermann in Munich. She impresses Rudy Steiner, a boy who lives next door, and they become fast friends.

They become members of the Hitler Youth movement. At a Nazi book burning ceremony, she grabs a book that has been only singed. She is seen by Ilsa Hermann, wife of the Burgermeister (mayor). Ilsa takes her into their library and tells Liesel she can come by anytime and read as much as she'd like. One day Liesel is found reading by the mayor, who not only puts a stop to her visits but dismisses Rosa as their laundress.

During Kristallnacht, Max Vandenberg was forced to escape by his mother. Max's father had saved Hans' life in World War I, and hence he goes to the Hubermanns' house, where Rosa and Hans give him shelter. Max initially stays in Liesel's room while recovering from his trip, and they begin to become friends over their mutual hatred of Hitler. World War II begins, initially making most of the children in Liesel's neighborhood very happy. Max is moved to the basement so that he can move around more, but it is cold and he becomes dangerously ill. Liesel helps him recover by reading to him at every spare moment books "borrowed" from the mayor's library.

One day while "borrowing" a book from the mayor's home, Liesel is followed by Rudy. He discovers the secret of Max, whose name he reads on a journal Max gave to Liesel for Christmas. Rudy guesses that her family is hiding someone, and he swears to never tell anyone. Franz overhears Rudy's last words and violently pushes Rudy to reveal the secret. Rudy throws the journal into the river to keep it from Franz. After Franz leaves, Rudy plunges into the icy river to rescue the journal, and Liesel realizes that she can truly trust him. Soon, a local party member comes by to check the Hubermanns' basement, and they have to hide Max.

While working, Hans sees a neighbour and friend named Lehman being taken away by the police because he is a Jew. Hans tries to intervene, telling the officer that Lehman is a good man, but Hans's name is taken by the soldiers and he is thrown to the ground. Hans realizes what a mistake he has made since this has made his family visible. He tells the family, and Max realises he must leave in order to protect them. Hans then receives a telegram that he has been conscripted into the army and must leave immediately.

On the way home from school, Liesel believes she has seen Max in a line of Jews being forcibly marched through town, and she begins screaming his name, running through the line. She is thrown to the sidewalk twice by German soldiers and finally gives up when Rosa picks her up and takes her home.

Hans returns home after being injured. One night the city is bombed by accident, and the air raid sirens fail to go off. Hans, Rosa, Rudy's family, and Franz are killed in the blast. Liesel is spared from the bombing because she fell asleep in the basement while writing in the journal given to her by Max. She passes out and one of the soldiers carries her to a stretcher. When she wakes up, she sees a book among the rubble and picks it up.

Two years later, after Germany has been occupied by the Allies, Liesel is working in the tailor shop owned by late Rudy's father when Max suddenly enters. The final scene is Death speaking again about Liesel's life and her death at the age of 90, mentioning her husband, children, and grandchildren, as we look over her modern day Manhattan Upper East Side apartment with pictures of her past and a portrait of her younger self, upon which the camera lingers. The narrator does not state whom she had married but implies that she became a renowned writer.

Production
A search for an actress to play the eponymous book thief, Liesel Meminger, occurred across the world. On February 4, 2013, it was announced that Canadian actress Sophie Nélisse was cast in the role and that Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and English actress Emily Watson would be playing Meminger's foster parents.

Principal photography began in early March 2013 at Babelsberg Studio in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. Locations included Marquardt Palace. The first trailer was released on August 21, with the Bastille song "Haunt" as the music.

Markus Zusak, Australian author of the best-selling, award-winning book on which the film is based, confirmed on his blog that the film would be narrated by the character of "Death", as was the novel. After some speculation that Death might be voiced by the anonymous American actor who was used in the official trailer, it was announced that English actor Roger Allam of Game of Thrones would portray Death in the film.

Soundtrack
The music for the film was composed by John Williams, and the soundtrack album containing the score was released by Sony Classical and Fox Music. The album was released in the United States on November 5, 2013. It was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Original Score. It won Best Instrumental Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.

The Book Thief marked the first time since 2005 that Williams had scored a film not directed by Steven Spielberg.

Release
Originally scheduled for January 17, 2014, The Book Thiefs limited theatrical release was moved forward to November 8, 2013, due to the fact that it was finished ahead of schedule and in order to compete in the 2013–14 award season. It premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3, 2013, and was screened at the Savannah Film Festival on October 29, 2013. It expanded to a wide release on November 27, 2013.

Critical response
The Book Thief received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 48%, based on 151 reviews, with an average score of 5.80/10. The site's consensus states, "A bit too safe in its handling of its Nazi Germany setting, The Book Thief counters its constraints with a respectful tone and strong performances." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

In her review for the New Empress Magazine, Mairéad Roche praised the film for providing a "fresher perspective on the war" through the experiences of ordinary Germans who lived through the Nazi era. In addition to the "Oscar-baiting beautiful" cinematography and John Williams's film score that contribute to the film's emotional appeal, Roche singled out the performance of young Sophie Nélisse as Liesel that "matches the well-measured and seemingly effortless efforts of both Rush and Watson". Roche concluded, "The Book Thief weaves a consistent thread of humanity through its narrative via the commonality of Death, storytelling, and the concept of free will. The disturbing sight of children in Hitler Youth uniforms and Allied blanket bombing, when shown through the innocence of a child, humanises the German generation just living their lives without the hindsight of history. A blurring of vision due to tears is to be expected, but that effect is delivered with respect and dignity to the audience."

In his review following the Mill Valley Film Festival, Dennis Harvey at Variety magazine wrote, "Rush generously provides the movie's primary warmth and humor; Watson is pitch-perfect as a seemingly humorless scold with a well-buried soft side." Harvey also praised the film's cinematography and film score, noting that "impeccable design contributions are highlighted by Florian Ballhaus'[s] somber but handsome widescreen lensing and an excellent score by John Williams that reps his first feature work for a director other than Steven Spielberg in years."

Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post was less impressed with the film, giving it two and half out of four stars. Merry felt that the film "has its moments of brilliance, thanks in large part to an adept cast" but that the film ultimately shows the difficulties of bringing a successful novel to the screen. In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Abele was also unimpressed, describing the film as "just another tasteful, staid Hollywoodization of terribleness, in which a catastrophic time acts as a convenient backdrop for a wishful narrative rather than the springboard for an honest one".

Home media
The Book Thief was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 11, 2014.