One of the most common topics in movies is
World War II. For some people they are interesting films, for others, films
that tell the same story over and over. Either way, it is an event that has
many angles and one of them is shown in the movie 'THE BOOK THIEF'.
By Staff
This picture did something quite well:
create strong buzz. It is a story about the Nazi Party and a little girl who is
addicted to reading; add a Jewish man on the run and you have a very
interesting idea.
The main plot is as follows: 'Liesel',
played by Sophie Nélisse, is a little girl that after her brother's untimely death is
sent to live with a German couple.
Her new mother, played by Emily Watson, is
a bossy woman of strong character. Her father, played brilliantly by Geoffrey
Rush, is a peaceful man with great sense of humor and a huge heart.
Things don't go well for Liesel in school
or her new home at first. Her dad, however, finds a way to help her express
herself better and live a happier life by reading books, magazines, manuals,
everything.
When 'Max', a young Jewish man running away
from the Nazi Party, shows up on the family's doorstep asking for shelter,
their lives get complicated since they now have one more mouth to feed and the
threat of treason is imminent.
Liesel and Max develop a great friendship
since they both love reading. The problem is that the Party forbids their
hobby. The title of the movie tells you what Liesel will have to do to satisfy
her love for books and to help Max see more than just the walls of the basement
he lives in.
Analysis and opinion:
Sorry if we went a little long on the
introduction to the story but it was necessary so you guys know what everything
going on is about.
As far as technical aspects go, what we get
to see scenery wise is very good but it also fails to paint a broader picture
of the town where the story takes place because everything happens on one
single street and a couple of houses. They were all well made but the lack of
more places to see was a bit disappointing.
The costume design and the art direction
were quite good. The first was well researched and made while the second one
did a very good job introducing us to the 30's and 40's.
The performances by the main characters-
Liesel, Papa, Mama, Max and Rudy were excellent, especially Geoffrey Rush's;
though it must be said that the film could have been much better with one of
the following: all actors/actresses being German born or if it was made in
German with English subtitles.
There was one small detail we loved: the
narrator of the story. We can't tell you much about this aspect because you'll
appreciate it more as you are watching the film. What we will tell you is that
it was a completely different thing from the film itself and it has nothing to
do with the main story, but it was something we hadn't seen in this movie-genre
and in our opinion it worked great and gave it a peculiar touch.
After reading everything to this point, you
must be thinking this is a great movie. It certainly could've been if not for
one important aspect: the direction.
Director Brian Percival failed terribly in
telling us an entertaining story. There are moments, many as a matter of fact,
that were great lightening the dramatic load and performances worthy of
appreciation, but the film never takes flight. It feels flat and lacks any real
emotion. One could think that the editing is the problem but it isn't, the
film's pace is fine, in fact, it's a long movie but you never feel like
sequences are being dragged nor extended unnecessarily. This is why we blame
the director for the film failing to reach it's enormous potential.
In a few words: this could've been an
excellent film, it had all the elements to be amazing but it falls short and
stays as one out of the bunch.
6.5/10 WORTH THE TICKET PRICE.
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