The Book Thief

THE BOOK THIEF

Director : Brian Percival

Year : 2014

Genre : War

Rating : **1/2

Based on Markus Zusak's hugely popular children's novel of the same name, 'The Book Thief' is an emotionally driven but sadly empty drama set against the backdrop of war torn Nazi Germany. Directed by 'Downton Abbey's Brian Percival and starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson and Sophie Nelisse, 'The Book Thief' tells the story of a young girl's experiences throughout the turbulent and violent days of World War II; from the loss of parental figures to the persecution of the Jews and for the most part, Percival manages to cement the characters in time and place thanks to Florian Ballhaus' beautiful cinematography and John Williams evocative underscoring. However, an overly melodramatic ambience and a proclivity for more fable-esque conventions turn 'The Book Thief' from a timeless and highly stirring tale into a much more manipulative and sometimes overbearingly sentimental piece.

Sophie Nelisse plays Liesel, a young German girl who is adopted by a foster family when she is abandoned by her mother after the death of her brother. While her new Mum (Watson) comes across as strict and regimental, her foster father (Rush) is a lot more relaxed and carefree and thanks to his friendly and gentle nature, Liesel finds a soul mate and loving friend. However, the horrors of the Third Reich begin to unfold around the innocent girl and book burnings and public beatings of the Jewish people soon become a daily occurrence. Finding solace in the pages of classic literature, Liesel hides away from the unspeakable evil and unnecessary hatred  in the cavernous library of the local burgomaster; becoming lost in the worlds and universes created by the geniuses of the written word.

However, danger soon rears it head when her foster parents take in an injured and sick Jewish man, an act which could cost the innocent and good natured people their lives. Creating a sanctuary in the gloomy basement, the Jewish man and Liesel form a bond over their shared passion of books and to entertain the persecuted boy, she takes to stealing the coveted novels from the shelves of the burgomaster.

It is obvious through Percival's careful direction and the dedication of the very good performances from the entirety of the cast that the intentions of turning the award winning book into a movie were genuine and I am glad that filmmakers are still determined to tell the children of the world of the horrors of the Holocaust and the evilness of the Nazi's but just like 'The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas', 'The Book Thief' sadly falls into the pitfalls of trying to create emotion and empathy without providing any definable mood or multi layered characters to become fully invested in. There are far too many moments of overt manipulation and forced symbolism too stir the blood that rather than being moved by the imagery, I was repelled by it. For example, nearly every scene in the film begins with the image of a swastika laden object. Now, I understand that Percival is trying to represent a time in history when signs and flags of the demonic icon where extremely prevalent in every walk of life but as an audience member in 2014, these moments come across as pure pantomime. Yes, I get the idea that the Nazis were bad people, I don't need this universally known ideology shoved down my throat at every possible moment. Let the characters and the script tell the story, not the props and background design.

It may have  it's fair share of problems but one thing that can't be denied is that 'The Book Thief' sports some wonderful performances. Newcomer Sophie Nelisse carries the weight of the narrative and the power of the story on her shoulders with ease and thanks to her very likable personality and emotive body language, she is a welcome and extremely warm screen presence that contrasts the dark and horrific nature of the violence that is taking place on the boundaries of the main narrative. I am sure that this is not the last film we will see her in and I hope that future directors will use her angelic features and childlike innocence just as well as Brian Percival has. Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush give Academy Award worthy performances as Liesel's adoptive parents and as a pair the two compliment each other very well indeed. As usual, Rush brings an avuncular and jovial nature to his character and the always brilliant Watson brings a hard hearted but underlying loving portrayal to Liesel's seemingly cold mother. Unfortunately, while it's central characters are nuanced and three dimensional, the same cannot be said for it's villains. As characters, the Nazi's are barely developed and rather than giving us layered and complex characters, they are turned into very basic and let's face it boring archetypes. The reason why movies such as 'Schindler's List' and 'Lore' are so indelible is that because the filmmakers and screenplay take the time to explore the psyches of not only the protagonists but they also take the time to explore the twisted and maladjusted minds of it's antagonists. 'The Book Thief' doesn't and as a result, the movie feels much more formulaic and conventional.

An underwhelming and predictable finale ends what could have been a very powerful and emotive work. While it's performances are great and the mise en scene looks gorgeous, 'The Book Thief' is yet another kids war film that fails to encapsulate the terror of the era and replaces it with forced melancholy and repetitive pathos. There is much to admire here but I would say that rather than spending your time and money seeing it in the cinemas, 'The Book Thief' may work just as well on DVD,  when children can ask inevitable questions and parents can talk to their youngsters about the horrors that shaped Europe less than 70 years ago.