The Book VS. The Movie > I liked them both!

Rating: 10/10 (10 November 2015)

I was very disturbed over how Rosa was portrayed in the movie. In her first scene she is calling Liesel's mother (and Liesel) a "filthy communist" that drags children half way through the country, unwashed and unfed, only to kill one of them. "I was promised two children, two allowances"! Where did all this came from? Rosa would never say such a thing, as brutal and verbally tough as she was in the book. And where is the washing scene? Where is the bonding that grows since the very first moment between Hans and Liesel? Where is Hans showing Liesel how to roll up cigarettes instead of taking a bath as she was dirty from the train/trip? I really missed that in the movie... And why is Liesel singing herself to sleep? And how come Hans plays the accordion with the same tune? Where are Liesel's nightmares about her brother and mother? Where is Hans comforting and soothing her each night by playing the accordion? That was all the point of the relationship and showing them growing their love for each other! And from where does Rosa's line come from?! "What makes you think you are good enough for my daughter?" - that was said to Rudy, Liesel's new friend/boyfriend/companion. And why does Rudy even come to pick her for school the first day she is there? This was not in the book and makes me weird to think Rosa immediately calls Liesel daughter and takes ownership over her and her potential love-life. Not to mention the next scene from school where Liesel is just instructed "Chalk. Board. Name. Write it!" by her teacher. We find here that Liesel does not even know how to write. As far as I remember the book, she was very much able to do that and recognize certain words. *** Now I really must admit I quite love the actors chosen for the parts in the movie. Even the German accent is adorable! But one of the very things I have noticed about Rudy was that his love shown in the movie was extremely pushy and to a certain point very irritating. Thank God Max has its entrance and starts to balance things up! Though it is a bit abrupt - his friend just givens him the train tickets in a Mein Kampf book and send him on his way while he leaves his mother to be killed/taken to Auschwitz. Well where is Max's isolation? Struggle with himself and leaving the ones he loved? Where is it?! In the book we read of his solitude and of his fright of moving too fast so people would hear him. We hear of him staying in the darkness of the room and shaving for his trip with the train, being afraid of the outside after staying so long without any human contact... He is brought up to the bed in Liesel's room, which should have been her brothers. Which brings me to the question: where is the basement?! He should have been taken directly there! That is how the book had it! And where are the writings on the wall in the basement? (well... still... do not worry about that, we see them later on, totally way later than the book told us about it!) We see Hans bringing Liesel down in the basement (and BTW this is one of my fav scenes in the movie!) and saying "Come, I have a surprise for you!" and shows her the walls filled with letters: "It's a dictionary. Some of the words we have learned. Add as many as you like!" :) Another thing I liked in the books, but it came in also as a lovely surprise in the movie, was the scene where Rudy runs all painted in black as his hero: Jesse Owens. But one huge minus! Where is the public? In the book we know all the town knew about it and that many people saw him run all smeared in black saying he is Jesse! Here only one old man who ends up pulling his ear and dragging him to his dad appears... *** The burning books scene is also heartbreaking and brilliant. The whole speech held by the mayor/party leader is very exhilarating and as it is done in German so much the better! I love how the producers actually used as much as they could the German language + German accent. Even if one does not know the language one can realize all the hatred and conviction with which people followed the lead of the ones that wanted the "end of communists and jews" alike! Though I did not like one part that is not in the book. A boy from the Young Hitler Group gives them forbidden books to burn in the huge mound of forbidden items and watches them as they do so... I think Liesel would not be able to burn a book as she loved words and stories so much...