The main two reasons to see “The Book Thief” are the French Canadian Sophie Nélisse and the unpeered Geoffrey Rush.
Liesel Goes on a Journey
We meet Liesel on a train, where her brother dies in their mother’s arms. While burying him in a grave near the train tracks, the grave digger unknowingly drops a book. Liesel surreptitiously absconds with it.
Book thief Liesel meets her foster parents, whom she later describes as “a man with an accordion heart and a woman cloaked in thunder.” Hausfrau Rosa (Emily Watson) is a terror on the outside, calling everyone “Sau-mensch!” (“Swine-person”). But deep down she’s a softie. Husband Hans is a tousle-headed musician with a heart of gold, played to twinkle-eyed, hangdog perfection by Rush.
“This is your book?” “Yes.” “The Gravedigger’s Handbook??” “Yes.” (Raised eyebrow)
After they painstakingly work their way through the book, Hans proclaims solemnly (twinkle, twinkle) that when he dies, Liesel must make sure that the proper procedures are observed in accordance with their newly acquired expertise regarding the burial process.He also turns their basement into a magical wraparound blackboard, with enormous letters of the alphabet, under which she can write down her favorite new words.
A Houseguest
Around about the time of the unholy “Kristallnacht” (a pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany on Nov. 9–10, 1938), the family takes on a new guest, Max (Ben Schnetzer). The Jewish Max is a friend of the family, and Hans happens to be indebted to Max’s family for his life. They hide Max in the basement. Liesel later describes him as the “boy who lived under the stairs like an owl with no wings.”
At school, Liesel’s best friend (and hopeful seeker of a kiss from her), little tow-headed Rudy (German child actor Nico Liersch) supports her in all endeavors. At one point, he dives into a wintry river to retrieve one of her lost books. Playing alone, Rudy adorably smears black shoe polish on his face and torso to better represent his hero, African American 1936 Olympic track-star Jesse Owens, in the 100-meter dash. His Nazi father is naturally not terribly thrilled.
Liesel’s family does laundry for the local Bürgermeister (mayor) whose lonely wife, Ilse (Barbara Auer), reveals to Liesel her secret library, which is, of course, heaven to the child. But the Bürgermeister (Rainer Bock) is suspicious of Liesel, and the family loses him as a client. They now need to make do with two meals a day to accommodate the wingless owl under the stairs.
Over the next six years, Hitler rises. Former-friends-turned-Nazis bring terror in the form of basement inspections (harboring Jews is a sure death sentence), and Hans eventually gets conscripted to the war effort.
Highlights
Director Brian Percival of “Downton Abbey” fame mixes British actors using German accents, a few German actors, and the occasional German word. It creates a highly enjoyable, playfully successful illusion of German-ness. As mentioned, Nélisse’s Liesel and Rush’s Hans are outstanding.
The story, however, is set in World War II, so it does not have the happiest of endings. The entire movie is narrated by the unseen voice of that scythe-holding, hooded, black-cloaked, skeletal character we all know (voiced by Roger Allam). Much like the ending of 1992’s fly-fishing movie “A River Runs Through It,” where Norman Maclean says, “I am haunted by waters,” so also does the scythe-holder say, “I am haunted by humans.” Who knew that one could feel compassion for the Grim Reaper’s tough job?
Accompanied by an Erik Satie-like score, “The Book Thief” is especially wonderful for 10 year-olds, and pretty wonderful for adults too.
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