I am so thankful my friend Nicole took her mother-in-law’s recommendation and chose The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak for our neighborhood book club selection circa 2005. It instantly became one of my top 10 favorites of all time. (Which says a lot because I’m quite the bookworm!) I jumped at the chance to see a preview of the movie last night and invited Nicole and all of my neighborhood book aficionados! My husband and sons also attended with me. I asked for everyone’s opinion after the movie and heard many one word answers such as: WOW!- Amazing!- Fantastic! etc.
The young actress who plays Liesel, The Book Thief, (Sophie Nélisse) is phenomenal. Her eyes are fiercely captivating. She is mesmerizing to watch and I could feel her emotions through those beautiful transfixing eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sophie Nélisse receive numerous accolades for this role!
My husband and sons have not read the book but were equally as enthralled with the movie. My husband and I are thankful for this inspiration to have a frank and open discussion with our boys about the truth behind the history of this awful WWII period in Nazi Germany. We don’t sugarcoat things in our family and this was an excellent opportunity for them to see the horror of those times through the story of a young girl who starts the movie as a 12 year old – the same age as my youngest son.
This is a “must see” movie. Yes, it is sad….but the interwoven story of the characters is full of love, life, heroics, complexity, diversity, perseverance and compassion. Don’t miss this one.
The movie is rated PG-13 for “some violence and intense depiction of thematic material”
Click here for the synopsis of the movie and identification of the characters from IMDB.
Would you like to meet the talented author of the book? Marcus Zusak will be in Dunwoody at the MJCCA on 11/14 at 2:30 PM to sign books and movie posters!
The movie opens in theaters today!
