So this review goes hand in hand with my last one, because as much as I love books I also love seeing what happens to that book when it is put on this big screen. The contrast between reading a book yourself and sitting and having the story told to you visually are two totally different thing, and I love both. Some times it works and other times...well you question whether anyone in the film was even aware of the book.
But I will cover more of those films and their book origins as time goes by. So onto The Book Thief only this time on the screen.
I was very excited when I heard the book was being turned into a film, normally its the romances or a Teen Dystopian that get the Hollywood treatment, and it never even crossed my mind that The Book Thief would get a chance, and when the cast was announced and I saw them in character I was even more excited.
Perfect casting in my view
I knew I would have to see this film as soon as it came out, and one day on my way home from work I saw a poster on the underground saying that the Odeon in Leicester Square was doing an advance screening of the film on the 14th of February which just so happens to be my birthday. now with my birthday falling on Valentines Day often leaves me at a loss on what to do, everywhere is too busy or fully booked and and everyone I know has plans, so I tend to keep it small so this fit the bill perfectly.
So on the 14th me and my boyfriend went out for dinner at a lovely Steak House and then made our way over to the Cinema. The Odeon that it was in was stunning, the seats were velvety and really soft with large arm rest, we were seated in the front row of the royal circle it just felt so grand, like going to the cinema was a real event in itself. Then the movie started.
At the Cinema!
Like is said so much before the book is beautiful, and visually the film was equally stunning, the colours were so rich, the score was perfect, the cast looked like they had leapt from my imagination and on to the screen, it was just wonderful.
Also this film really stuck true to the book, watching the film you get a sense that the director is a real fan of the book, and loved it and wanted to do it justice. Which makes for a wonderful viewing experience. However there are some translation from page to screen that have some issues, as I said before about the book, this is not an action packed book, and therefore it was not an action packed film, some of the most wonderful moments in the book for me was Papa teaching Liesel to read in the middle of the night, when she was too scared to sleep, although these scene were touching, they did loose a little bit of the magic that they had on the page.
One aspect that I did really like was how they made Liesel age, it was just one actress who played the role of Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) and the film is set over a number of years. We see Liesel go from an innocent child to a young girl with her own thoughts and feelings about the world around her, they did this transformation with clever costuming and hair styles and it was very effective as you could easily tell when the time frame of the film had shifted. Though this technique worked well on the actress playing Liesel it didn't work quite so well with the actor who played Rudy (Nico Liersch) Liesel friend and companion during the years in Himmel Street.
Liesel at the start of the film
Liesel towards the end of the film
I had two stand out favourite moments in the film that were just wonderful,the first is when Liesel brings Max (Ben Schnetzer), a young Jewish man in hiding, some snow from outside while he is hiding in the basement, and this becomes an evening of playing in the snow building snowmen and a moment of pure joy where all fear and worry melts away for a few hours in a dark basement below the house, and innocents is returned to Liesel life. Though when the snow thaws the reality is returned and they must carry their fear with them once more. It was a really wonderfully shot scene and was very moving to watch.
The second moment that I really loved was when Liesel breaks into Frau Heinrich (Frau Heinrich) Library, and the silent moments Liesel spends there as she runs her fingers over the spines of books she can not read, in a house with so much more grandeur then she can imagine for herself, the image of this young girl surround by works of great minds, in worlds she can not picture herself in. I may be bias as I love Libraries but I really enjoyed seeing those moments.
Now I don't want to mention too much more as I don't want to spoil it for those who have not seen the film, but there are so many more touching scenes, Liesel telling her neighbours stories to calm their fears during an air raid, which represents the power of words, Hitler spread his message of hate with carefully chosen words, and Liesel spread hope and calmed fears with hers, and the climax of the film is heartbreak. But I will let you discover these moments for yourself,.
Even though in moments the film felt a but slow, it is a film you should make time for. I can't think of another film that shows the lives of everyday Germans, who aren't Jewish trying to avoid persecution or a Nazi general plotting some evil. I feel this aspect of the WWII is often forgotten, the story of the German people trying to make it through the war. having Hitler's laws forced upon them, sitting in bomb shelters hoping their homes will still be standing in the morning. It is a wonderful film and a very good adaptation.
Rella Xx
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