Listening to Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush speak English with fake German accents is, well, fake. On top of that, Death is the narrator in this story - something that feels too gimmicky for the subject of war.
The Book Thief **
Listening to Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush speak English with fake German accents is, well, fake. On top of that, Death is the narrator in this story - something that feels too gimmicky for the subject of war.
Liesel (Sophie Nélisse, pictured) is separated from her communist mother and taken in by a German couple, Hans (Rush) and Rosa (Watson). Germany is engulfed in the Second World War. The family shelters Max, a young Jewish man, in the basement. Played by Ben Schnetzer, he is the emotional link to the fascism that is enveloping large parts of Europe, and the Holocaust that as yet has no name.
The gentle Hans teaches Liesel to read. Finding comfort in words, she steals books to share with her family and their fugitive guest.
Markus Zusak's bestselling novel is handled in an oddly soft and tangential manner by director Brian Percival, and his approach to history and historical evil is smothered in feel-good tragi-sentimental slush. What is a poignant and profound story comes across as wooden and predictable - a vapid yarn rather than a true telling that pierces the psyche of Nazi Germany.
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