Over-wrought

Rating: 6/10 (3 December 2016)

"The Book Thief" has good intentions but over-all I found it muddled. There were too many things going on – Liesel's relationship with her surrogate parents and with Rudy. Then there was hiding a Jewish person in the family household – and then Liesel's relationship with him. One could add other themes like the growing Nazism of the towns-folk, the Allied bombings, Liesel stealing books...
The film just tries too hard when making any emotional statement. Aside from our central character I never felt any emotional connection to the others. Liesel's surrogate mother was a caricature.
Although well-filmed and colourful cinematically it was bothersome to hear German accents and words popping up constantly (Ja, Nien...). The bodies of Liesel's surrogate parents and Rudy after the bombing raid look so pristine beside the ruined homes – giving additional phoniness to this film.
Also that over-narration of Dr. Death added to the cloyingness.
Overall the story held some interest, but I never felt much of a main focal point.