Cover to Reel: THE BOOK THIEF

~ post by Katie G

Cover to Reel is a regular column in which I offer my two cents about that age-old debate of whether or not a movie did any kind of justice to the book it’s based on.

I am a visual person. So, the reason why I appreciate movie adaptations is that it always brings the story into focus. With my last two posts, (Monuments Men & Blue is the Warmest Color), I was beginning to worry my little project here wasn’t ever going to have anything nice to say. Thankfully, I needn’t have worried.

This was my first read of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I have to say it changed my life. It’s this weird & wonderful, exceptionally well written novel. I loved every minute of Liesel Meminger’s life among her cast of eccentric, playful and wholly lovable characters.

Narrated by Death, we see a little girl’s adolescence filled with war, loss, & words through his ethereal perspective. The living confuse & fascinate him, especially subjects like the precocious Liesel who’s taken in by the Hubermanns, Hans & Rosa, of Himmel (Heaven) street, following the death of her brother & her Communist mother’s decision to give her up. She soon makes friends. First, there’s her partner in crime & almost kisses, Rudy Steiner. Second, there’s Max Vanderburg, a Jew whose life is tied to Hans Hubermann’s. He’s brought into their home and hidden from the Nazis. Max & Liesel work through the strife this war is causing them together and form a bond over the beautiful stories that Max creates for her reading lessons. Keep your tissues out the closer you get to the end.

I am often fascinated by how people tick. Markus Zusak is someone I would love to spend a golden afternoon with. This book is near perfection. It handles big, overwhelming themes with what can only be described as grace. Each page comes alive with playful, bold images. It’s dark, thought provoking & visceral. The book is labeled “young adult,” but anyone can read this story and gain something. Liesel & her band of misfits will make your heart smile.

The movie, keeping the same title, came out on video Tuesday. It’s directed by Brian Percival (Downton Abbey) with a screenplay written by Michael Petroni (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Both these film makers are relatively green in their resumes, and it shows from time to time, but they made a great family film. And, they made a good book to movie adaptation.

Where the filmmakers might have been lacking, the cast more than picks up the slack. Geoffery Rush (The King’s Speech) as Hans Hubermann is a no-brainer. I knew the make-up of the cast while I was reading the book, and it just clicked. Rudy (Nico Liersch) & Max’s (Ben Schnetzer) players are perfect. The two main women were the ones I was the most fond of & surprised by. Emily Watson (Red Dragon, Punch Drunk Love) has always been a favorite of mine. It wasn’t too surprising that she was able to embody Rosa Hubermann. Rosa is a woman who, superficially, appears to be harsh & far too logical to balance Hans’ romantic nature. But, deep down, she has just as big of a heart. Watson captures this completely.

All of them are lovely, but my favorite has to be Sophie Nélisse as Liesel. Nélisse is a relatively unknown (at least to American audiences), French Canadian, 13 year old actress. She is beautiful, poised and just great. Her accent was perfect (I’m not German; to my Texan ears, it’s perfect) and she carries the film on her shoulders with ease. I have to think Liesel would be proud of her film counterpart. I’d keep an eye on Miss Nélisse’s film career down the road.

The movie keeps all the essential elements from the book. Death is still narrating. Liesel’s life plays out with heaping handfuls of tragedy between the few truly happy moments, most of which she has to steal for herself. The movie is a great family film.

I put an emphasis on family film, again, to soften my one major critique of the movie.

Hollywood loves family films, especially ones released during the holidays — the theatrical release of The Book Thief was in November. They tend to use a specific set of rules for family films, and that conformity is its only fault. The rules, as I see them, mean the movie can’t be too dark & it can’t fall into too much moral ambiguity, both of which are prominent in the pages of Zusak’s The Book Thief.

I can forgive the film’s use of these rules to a degree. My strongest contention is one I am not willing to forgive. On more than one occasion in the movie, Liesel rejects the idea she is stealing books. She defensively spits out at the boy playing Rudy that she “borrows” books and does not steal them. This, even though, we never actually see her return a single book in the film.

I know. It sounds weird. But, Zusak titled the novel The Book Thief for a reason. The Liesel Meminger of his story embraces the thrill of stealing books because it’s not just about thievery – it’s about retribution. Liesel has had so much stolen from her (family, her childhood, her country) that it’s a form of justice; saving that which the Nazi’s abuse, destroy, but also manipulate to their advantage – words. Words are powerful, and Liesel is stealing them back to revive her small corner of humanity. So, I feel like it sacrificed something essential to the heart of Liesel (and really any child going through something so horrific) solely for the sake of letting us know what’s right and what’s wrong.

I will stand by the movie. I do wish it had kept more of the novel’s dark tone, but it told the version of the story it wanted to tell – and it was told well. But, very few things can compare to the beautiful images that Zusak created. The Book Thief should be required reading for all.

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The Book Thief is available on our shelves and online via bookpeople.com. The film is available for rent at both Vulcan Video locations here in town.