The Book Thief is a 2013 film directed by Brian Percival and based on the bestselling 2005 novel of the same name by Markus Zusak. The film tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who is sent to live with a foster family in Nazi Germany during World War II. Liesel is fascinated by books and becomes a book thief, stealing books from wherever she can find them in order to quench her thirst for knowledge and escape from the bleak reality of war.
The film follows Liesel as she grows up and navigates the dangerous world of Nazi Germany, all while struggling to come to terms with the loss of her mother and the harsh realities of war. Along the way, she befriends a number of characters who help shape her life, including her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, and a Jewish refugee named Max Vandenburg.
One of the most striking aspects of The Book Thief is its use of narrated voiceovers, with the story being narrated by Death itself. This unique storytelling device adds an element of mystery and poignancy to the film, as we see the events of the story unfold through the eyes of an omniscient and detached observer.
The film also does an excellent job of portraying the grim realities of war and the devastating impact it has on ordinary people. Liesel's journey is one of hope and resilience, as she fights to hold onto her love of books and learning despite the challenges and dangers that surround her.
Overall, The Book Thief is a powerful and poignant tale of love, loss, and the enduring power of the written word. It is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll, and one that is sure to touch the hearts of audiences of all ages.
The Book Thief
Soon, a local party member comes by to check the Hubermanns' basement, and they have to hide Max. Because Death narrates and explains the reasons behind each character's destruction and explains how he feels that he must take the life of each character, Death is given a sense of care rather than fear. Further, the love that Max and Liesel develop through their friendship creates a strong contrast to the fascist hate in the backdrop of the story. Likewise, history: the mean old Nazis hound Max and march sad-looking Jews down the street, but we never see what happens to those Jewsâthey remain vaguely wistful images divorced from the cruel reality of their corporeal fates. He is the son of a First World War German soldier who fought alongside Hans Hubermann, and the two developed a close friendship during the war. Review aggregation website The Book Thief counters its constraints with a respectful tone and strong performances.
Ilsa allows Liesel to visit, read, and steal books from her personal library. In the end, there's a distinct air of solipsism to this tale. He is very supportive of the Nazi party and fights with his father about it frequently. On the way home from school, Liesel believes she has seen Max in a line of Jews being forcibly marched through town, and she begins screaming his name, running through the line. In both the book and the movie, the German couple hides a Jew named Max Vandenburg in their basement, which causes tension and worry. Retrieved February 23, 2014. While working, Hans sees a neighbour and friend named Lehman being taken away by the police because he is a Jew.
Retrieved January 1, 2014. Hans tries to intervene, telling the officer that Lehman is a good man, but Hans's name is taken by the soldiers and he is thrown to the ground. He tells the family, and Max realises he must leave in order to protect them. Retrieved March 10, 2014. Hans returns home after being injured, and the family is reunited only for a short time.
She also gives Liesel a little black book, which leads Liesel to write her own story, "The Book Thief". Rosa Huberman's abrasive and oft-times scatological speech towards her family and others is emblematic of the despairing lives of the poorer classes. Retrieved 4 May 2015. She fell into a state of depression after the death of her only son in the Great War. Whatever its source, her newfound passion is one she shares with Max Our heroine's bookishness, meanwhile, is mainly a source of bemusement to Rudy Nico Liersh , the flaxen-haired neighbor boy who befriends and dotes on her. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
Rudy Steiner, a boy who lives next door, accompanies her on her first day of school. This valorization of reading is a transparent come-on in many books aimed at young readers. Other adults, though, are more apt to find the proceedings an occasion for fits of squirming and eye-rolling. While director Percival "Downton Abbey" elicits estimable performances from his cast, especially Nelisse, Rush and Watson, the visible world he embeds them in looks like a set from an old studio movie or a '50s TV sitcom. The Book Thief weaves a consistent thread of humanity through its narrative via the commonality of Death, storytelling and the concept of free will. He has brown, feather-like hair and swampy brown eyes. As a member of a relatively poor household with six children, Rudy is habitually hungry.
Soldiers bring Rudy out of his house alive, but he dies a few moments later after almost telling Liesel he loves her. Has the use of Nazis in movies reached the point of being pornographic? In this realm, people supposedly grow up, yet at the same time remain magically innocent and unchanged. Retrieved February 10, 2014. Liesel Meminger The protagonist of the story is an adopted girl on the verge of adolescence, with blonde hair. Liesel passes out, and one of the soldiers carries her to a stretcher.
Liesel is then brought to her new home in Munich, where she meets her new foster parents Rosa Hubermann and Hans Hubermann. At one point, Death states "even death has a heart," which reaffirms that there is a care present in the concept of death and dying. This is the movie, after all, that's narrated by Death, a device that you can imagine possibly working in a Hollywood film of the '30s or '40s, but hardly since. He is known throughout the neighborhood because of the " Max Vandenburg A Jewish fist-fighter who takes refuge from the Nazi regime in the Hubermann's basement. She is taunted by her schoolmates who chant "dummkopf" " Liesel and Rudy become members of the During One day while "borrowing" a book from the mayor's home, Liesel is followed by Rudy. Retrieved February 23, 2014. Liesel is spared from the bombing because she fell asleep in the basement while writing in the journal given to her by Max.
While some observers might say that line was crossed long ago, others may find that conclusive proof arrives in Brian Percival's "The Book Thief," based on an international bestseller that The New York Times jibed as "Harry Potter and the Holocaust. Retrieved 20 January 2020. Liesel overcomes her traumas by learning to love and be loved by her foster family and her friends. Retrieved 1 November 2019. There is a character named Ilsa Hermann that Liesel meets halfway through the book and movie. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
In the book and movie, a Jew is being marched through town, and he gives him a piece of bread. When she was introduced to Max the reader sees her soft side. Together, the two help each other with reading and write all the words they learn on a wall in the basement. In the movie, Ilsa lets Liesel read books in her library while doing her laundry. But Liesel undergoes no discernible transformation, and that seems to be the point: History may be awful, but a young heroine's spunkiness can overcome anything.
