THE BOOK THIEF

 Wartime drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Sophie Nélisse: 11-year-old Liesel Meminger

Geoffrey Rush: her adoptive father Hans Hubermann

Emily Watson: his wife Rosa

Nico Liersch: 11-year-old Rudy Steiner

Rainer Bock: Buergermeister Hermann

Barbara Auer: his wife Ilsa

Ben Schnetzer: Jewish refugee Max

REVIEW

This story of a young girl who learns to love books begins before the onset of World War II. However this is a sanitized version of the real thing and does not ring true: the flags are all bright and pristine, not faded and frayed; the cars are all clean and polished not dusty and dirty; the uniforms are all pressed and immaculate, not tattered and torn; these Nazis rough up citizens and burn books, not people.

Several other shortcomings are much in evidence: with a run time in excess of two hours it is a tad too long and the narration by the Grim Reaper serves only as an unwelcome intrusion and people speaking English with a funny accent and using a smattering of German words.

On the other hand the performances are all top-notch although that of Sophie Nélisse is the best, possibly garnering a nomination for an award of some sort?

CLASSIFICATION

for some violence and intense depiction of thematic material.

WAR HORSE

Wartime drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jeremy Irvine: Albert Narracott
Emily Watson: his mother Rose
Peter Mullan: his tenant farmer father Ted
David Thewlis: their landlord Mr. Lyons
Tom Hiddleston: Captain Nicholls
Celine Buckens: an orphaned young French girl Emilie
Niels Arestrup: her grandfather

REVIEW
Set before the beginning of the First World War this is the story of a boy and his horse.

While the film includes scenes of war, there is no bloodshed. Men get knocked down or fall from being hit by bullets but there is no gory aftermath. Even in the army field hospital we get to visit it only after all the soldiers have been bandaged up and there’s not a drop of blood to be seen anywhere. And as far as suffering goes, well there isn’t any. Realistic? No. Easy to take? Yes.

Production values are first rate, the sets just right, the battle scenes beautifully staged and the costumes are perfect (maybe too perfect as they look like they just came from the dry cleaners) which lends to its look of authenticity. The acting is strictly "by the book" so it will garner no awards for anyone.

However the main problem with the movie is this: it is overlong at almost two-and-a-half hours. There simply is not enough story to run for that length of time so most everything proceeds at a snail’s pace (the battles scenes being the exception) as though the director is trying to wring out every precious moment to its max.

One final thought: as I was walking out I overhead one member of the audience say to her friend “I should have brought a whole box of Kleenex”.

CLASSIFICATION

for intense sequences of war violence.