Saturday, December 21, 2013

Movie Review: The Book Thief

A few weeks ago, I finally had the chance to watch a book-movie adaptation of one of my favorite novels, The Book Thief. Rarely has a movie impacted me to this extent, and I'm quite satisfied with how true the movie stayed to this beloved book of mine.

If I were to choose my favorite aspect of the movie, I'd say it was the brilliant cast. Their acting skills were phenomenal, and each and every one of them portrayed their respective characters accurately. My personal favorite character, Rudy, was exactly how I imagined the lemon-colored haired boy; everything from being obsessed with Jesse Owens to his mannerisms were right on the dot.

However, the best actor in my opinion was, of course, Geoffrey Rush. Much like the book, he is the one who brought those moments of happiness to the otherwise dreary setting - which, by the way, was portrayed perfectly - and really delivered the lovable character of Hans well. 

I think my only complaint is the absence of Death for the entire middle of the movie. He makes an appearance (not literally) at the beginning, plays quite an important role in the ending, but was uncharacteristically mute for the bulk of the movie. I wish he was as present in the movie as he was in the book, because his commentary and foreshadowing made the novel even more heart-breaking.

By the end of the film, everyone was sniffling at the least, or crying ugly sobs (naturally I was the latter). I'll admit the ending was a bit rushed; if it was drawn out more it would have had more of an impact. Nonetheless, The Book Thief is a great example of how movie-book adaptations should be, and gives us a spectacular visual of the book. 

Was this better than the book, though? Psshht. No.


6 comments:

  1. Hmm... I haven't read myself, so I'm trying to strictly not watch it before reading, lol.
    Ooo, noticed you changed your blog a little. Love it! :3

    ~Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts
    (Currently giving away an ebook of Thimble Down by Pete Prown - 10 easy entries!)

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    1. Thanks Sophia! (: I'll be sure to check out the giveaway.

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  2. I haven't read it yet and I want to before the movie. I didn't realise this had already come out though, I thought it was coming out next year!!!

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  3. LOL! Well, I'd advise you not to watch the movie until you read the book, and that's especially true in the case of The Book Thief.

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  4. This was definitely an exceptional movie! When it first came out it was only showing in theaters near NYC, and I was so mad because I really, really wanted to watch it. I'm glad it expanded to more regions.

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    1. It was a perfect movie for a perfect book. :') That was the same for me. It didn't come out in a theater near me until the end of November, I think. The wait was pretty torturous. :(

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