'The only truth that I truly know is that I am haunted by humans.'

Rating: 10/10 (14 March 2014)

That a film that is so meticulously made and directed by Brian Percival with a cast of brilliant actors in excellent performances and concentrating on a different view of WW II Germany should have attracted well in the box office. It failed. But here it is now in DVD format and in many ways this may be the best way to absorb this compelling story.
THE BOOK THIEF, based on the beloved bestselling World War II-era novel by Markus Zusak and adapted for the screen by Michael Petroni, tells the story of Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse),a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a foster family, Hans Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) and his caustic wife Rosa (Emily Watson) in World War II Germany. Her brother has died and her mother is selling Liesel for cash. She arrives having just stolen her first book, "The Gravediggers Handbook" - it will be the beginning of a love affair with books. Her new Papa teaches her to read and bestows love and affection while Mama remains businesslike and cold. Liesel's only friend is Rudy (Nico Liersch), a spicy little neighbor boy with whom she becomes close. The Hubermann's agree to hide a young Jewish lad Max Vandenburg (Ben Schnetzer), the son of a close family friend, who is ill. The Hubermanns and Liesel nurse him back to health but as the war progresses Max must leave to prevent the Hubermanns from being discovered as harboring a Jew. Papa is conscripted but returns and eventually the village is bombed at the peak of the war. How Liesel deals with all of these changes makes for a fascinating, emotionally gripping story.
The aspects of the film are so beautifully wrought – acting, cinematography (Florian Ballhaus), musical score (John Williams), screenplay, story – that this is a film that likely will become part of movie lovers' libraries. The fact that it is narrated by Death (Roger Allam) may have put off many people in the theater. At home, it is simply another haunting element Highly Recommended.