For a film about
the Holocaust narrated by death, The Book
Thief was less depressing than I was anticipating. It is still far from
being a feel-good family film, but at least manages to handle the difficult
subject manner with an adequate amount of restraint. This often comes at the
expense of realism, blurring the lines between true story and fantasy more than
is often permitted with this material, resulting in something mostly
family-friendly despite difficult content.
The film follows
a young orphaned girl named Liesel (Sophie Nélisse), who is adopted by a German
couple (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) during World War II. She arrives
illiterate and alone, but manages to make a number of friends in the war-torn
community. Liesel is also forced to face large issues involving the war when
she discovers her new parents are hoping for their own country to be defeated
in the battles, even hiding an injured Jewish man named Max (Ben Schnetzer) in
their basement.
If The Book Thief were the only reference,
it would be a safe assumption that a majority of German people were against
Hitler and the Nazi-regime. Despite the secrecy of Liesel’s basement brother,
it seems that most of her neighbors and classmates are sympathetic to the
Jewish population being weeded out. There are exceptions, and these make for
the film’s easiest one-dimensional villains. In short, I would be more likely
to recommend this film to a child being introduced to the horrors of the
Holocaust than I would someone who has seen any previous attempts to depict the
atrocity on film.
The Blu-ray
release also comes with a digital copy and a handful of special features. There
are a few deleted scenes, along with a four-part making-of featurette.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Special Features: 6.5/10
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