The Book Thief

The new film The Book Thief doesn't focus too much on the war and Nazi stuff, although World War 2 is its setting.  Instead the main character is a young girl whose life is disrupted by the war, bringing her to a new community where she finds acceptance.  

In 1938, Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) is adopted out to a couple, Hans and Rosa (Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson).  It seems that her mother cannot afford to take care of her and her brother anymore.  During the train ride to her new home, her brother dies, which perturbs Rosa as she doesn't consider Liesel very valuable on her own (that is my impression although the film doesn't really say).  The couple are poor--Rosa takes in washing and Hans does sign painting when there is some.

Liesel, who is illiterate, is picked on at her new school but befriended by her schoolmate/neighbor Rudy.  He instantly falls for her.  Liesel insists that being illiterate does not mean she is dumb and we can see she is canny about what she says and observes a lot.  Rosa is a bit prickly with Liesel at first, but as the film goes on, warms up to her as the girl lives with them for several years, calling them mama and papa.  Hans is more nurturing and gentle, and sees that Liesel cannot read, so takes a roundabout approach to help her without making her feel embarrassed.  This awakens in Liesel a desire to read as much as she can.

Elsewhere, a young Jewish man Max (Ben Schnetzer) escapes being rounded up by German soldiers, as his mother sacrifices so he can escape.  Because Hans owes Max's family a great moral debt, he hides Max in Liesel's room, then in the basement, where Hans has painted alphabets on the walls to encourage Liesel's education.  She and Max share an affinity for the poetry of words.

A local politician's wife sees Liesel steal a book and when Rosa sends some laundry via Liesel to this customer, instead of being outed by her as a book thief, the woman invites Liesel to read in her private library whenever she likes.

These are the major plot points and characters of the movie.  The film is more gentle than most WW2-based movies as it stays focused on this one family and their friends, with major story points that are not talking about the war except in specific ways they affect this family.  Although there are the expected rounding up of Jews, separation of families, toeing the Nazi party line, race and cultural hatreds, and death of loved ones due to the war, it is almost all focused on the civilians.  The young actress, Sophie Nelisse, is very good, and she has good facial reactions to emotional scenes as well as a convincing accent.  Geoffrey Rush also plays his part well with lots of gentle humor and although Emily Watson's character starts out like a naggy wife, as the story goes on you can see that the couple are loving with and complement each other and eventually their bond with Liesel is indeed that of parents.

Although this is based on a book, and has that kind of emotional/dramatic/epic feel to the story, I feel it is not overshadowed by it and does not feel overly bookish or too "large."  The visuals are not sweeping as in many war films and stay smaller and more intimate with Liesel and her family and friends.