The Book Thief

2013 "Courage beyond words."
7.5| 2h11m| PG-13| en
Details

While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.

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Reviews

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
shereen_mady I havent read the book, however I was very moved by the movie! Seldom have I been captivated by a story about war before but this is different. Liesle, hans and rudy specifically are unbelievably real. I think its an undertrates movie
beorhouse Sophie Nélisse carries this film like a boss with a great supporting cast. If you like films about the European Theater during WWII, then this one will really surprise you with its focus on the world of the typical German of that time period and how he or she understood what Hitler and his regime was doing. This is a great film to place beside THE HIDING PLACE and LITTLE BOY, though the former is not of the Childhood Drama genre. I rarely give a film 10 out of 10, but if one deserves it, this one does. The photography, the acting, the dialogue-- everything, really--makes this one an instant classic. The world's new sweetheart? Sophie Nélisse, of course!
Irishchatter The near last part and the last part would nearly fill you with tears. My family and myself stumbled on this by accident while flicking through the TV, and this movie suddenly appears on Channel 4. You would get a lump on your throat in the scene where the young girl searches for her Jewish friend among the crowds of Jewish men going to the concentration camps and of course, the Nazi's getting violent at her whenever she approached them. Honestly, they were such sick human beings on this earth that worshipped Hitler and his severe hatred for the Jews. Even the fact, all of the girls family lost their lives when the bombs came on top of them from the Americans (I think). Honestly, this movie is so hard to watch but Geoffrey Rush did a fantastic job as playing the father role. I give this movie a 8/10!
michaelrthomson 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.