Emotional WWII drama explores loss, literacy, and love.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
The violence ranges from the deaths of various characters to scenes of Nazis terrorizing Jews in front of their homes and businesses and other occasions. Every scene with a Nazi officer is fraught with anxiety, and the character deaths (or near deaths) will upset even adult viewers. There are also a couple of scenes of schoolyard bullying and fights. During a couple of bombing raids, the entire town evacuates and is worried, anxious and afraid. A Nazi officer strikes Liesel and then Hans.
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Insults are used, but sometimes as terms of endearment and usually in German, like the expletives "Saumensch" and "Saukerl" ("dirty swine"), "Arschloch" ("a--hole"). Rosa often uses insults: "good-for-nothing"; "dreckigs" ("dirty"); "know-nothing," "stupid," and "idiot."
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Rudy repeatedly asks for a kiss, and by the end of the movie, when Rudy and Liesel are about 14, it's clear they have feelings for each other. One kiss.
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The movie, as with the book, has positive messages about the power of literacy and books; the importance of unconditional friendship; the relationship between parents and children; and the necessity of standing up for other people in need. The presence of Death also encourages the viewer not to squander their lives, because you never know when the end will arrive.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Liesel is curious, kind, and willing to work hard to learn how to read. Liesel's foster father Hans is patient, loving, and kind. He helps out Max when it would be much easier to denounce him, and he resists getting involved with the Nazi Party, even though it's the ruling government. Rosa comes off as harsh, but she does love Hans and Liesel and shows it in her own way. Rudy Steiner defends and protects Liesel.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Book Thief is a historical drama set in WWII Germany based on the bestselling young-adult novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. There are many scenes of violence, from the way the Nazis treat Jews, to schoolyard fights, to recurring bomb threats. There are many character deaths and near-deaths that will affect even the most jaded of viewers, though there's almost no blood and zero gore. Language includes German insults that translate to "a--hole" and "dirty swine" as well as "stupid" and "idiot." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
We watched this with our 15-year-old son who is a writer himself and who is currently reading historical fiction about WWII and Nazi Germany. He hasn't studied the period yet systematically in school, and he was transfixed by this movie -- I think as much by the poignancy about writing as life and humanity in the face of loss and threat and violence as by the particular storyline itself. He has not read the book version yet and I hope he does. We talked through a number of the historical events that are signaled in the film. He is 15 but I think a thoughtful 13-14-year-old would also appreciate it. I think I would have loved it at that age.
Ok movie, slow and plot wasn't the greatest but could of been.
Good movie but slow at times and a bit long. I was really excited to see this move. I love WWll films. The plot was good, a young girl abandon by her mother moves to a family in a small village. She can't read so the husband teaches her but then the Nazi's have a book burning party in the town square. She takes clean clothiers her mother launder to the town mayors wife and they have a wonderful library of books she loans to the girl. Then the war hits their village and she's hurt and so is her adopted parents. She grows older, and gets to met up with a young Jewish man her adoptive parents kept for awhile when she is about 18. That's it! Felt robbed by the ending really.
What's the Story?
THE BOOK THIEF, like the book on which it's based, is narrated by Death (Roger Allam), who explains that he rarely cares about the stories of the living, with the exception of young Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse). In 1938, Liesel is shown on a train with her frightened mother (rumored to be a Communist) and sick little brother, who dies before they reach their small town destination. At his impromptu funeral, Liesel steals The Gravedigger's Handbook as a memento. She's soon delivered to childless foster parents, gentle painter Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and abrasive laundress Rosa (Emily Watson). At home, Hans discovers the book and begins to teach Liesel how to read, and at school, Liesel befriends her neighbor, the fast-running Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch). Liesel's life changes even more when Hans and Rosa agree to hide a young Jewish man, Max (Ben Schnetzer), in their basement. Liesel, now a voracious reader, forms a sweet secret friendship with Max -- but as the war progresses, all of them are put in danger again and again.
The film may not steal your heart quite as powerfully as Zusak's novel, but it is faithful enough to show moviegoers why the characters are so beloved. Take Rudy, he's a "boy with hair the color of lemons" who doesn't care that his Olympic idol Jesse Owens is black -- he just wants to run fast and convince Liesel to give him a kiss. Then there's Max, who shows Liesel how to resist hate, and who paints over the pages of Mein Kampf to give Liesel a place for her words. And class actors Rush and Watson are fabulous as the bickering but loving Hubermanns, who really love their new daughter. This is a movie that will make you cry, make you laugh, and make you hold your books close to your heart.
Markus Zusak's novel is unforgettable: How many books are narrated by Death? The movie doesn't pull off the Death narration quite as seamlessly as the novel (plus, Allam's voice is stereotypically deep and knowing), but the at-times heartbreaking story will still resonate with viewers, who will grow to love young plucky Liesel. Nelisse is lovely as the curious Liesel, who despite losing her entire immediate family, is open to love -- whether it's from her parents, her new friend Max, or her best friend Rudy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the importance of literacy and books. How does learning to read change Liesel's life? Why does she "steal" books? How can books make an impact on even a horrible situation?
What makes a movie or a book "young adult" -- the age of the protagonist, the intended audience, or something else?
How is this movie different from others about WWII? Do you believe there were Germans who weren't fond of the Nazi regime or of Hitler's anti-semitic laws?
In the movie, like the book, Death is the narrator, but he doesn't reveal things the same way. What did you think of the narrator in the movie? For those who've read the book, did you like and understand the changes between the page and screen versions?
MPAA explanation:
some violence and intense depiction of thematic material
Last updated:
August 7, 2024
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By Sandie Angulo Chen
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