Recently, there has been a book-to-movie adaptation of The Book Thief, the book I recently read. This past Easter weekend, I decided to watch the movie in spite of some not-so-swell reviews of it.
For the most part, I really enjoyed it - as much as one could enjoy a sort of tragedy such as this. But first, I will indulge you in all of the flaws of the film. For one thing, the movie seemed quite polished and depicted 'Heaven Street' [the street which the story took place] as rather whimsical and with frequent NAZI flags and symbols - tons of them, really - placed throughout. I understand the reasons for their placement, it just appeared to be a little much at times. Back to the polished-ness of the film; they didn't show any hunger or suffering of the family and what a strain helping the character, Max, had been on their lives. With this, many of the side plots, while inserted, were brief and didn't have the same charm or lasting effect as in the book. But that's to be expected, as there was only a 2 hour time frame, give or take, and if you were to put in every detail, it would even exceed Lord of the Rings movie standards.
Now, for the positives. The actors and actresses did an excellent job portraying their given characters. Sophie Nelisse embodied Liesel Meminger down to the bone. I especially loved how the kept true to the novel with Death narrating the story, as it set the tone very well for the story. The ending was not so brutal as the book, which I am thankful for in some ways, but was still a definite tear-jerker.
I would recommend this book and movie to anyone interested. The story of Liesel Meminger, our spunky heroine, is worth learning - no matter how many tears are shed in the process.
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