A stellar cast including Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson brings to life the tale of a young girl who discovers that stories have extraordinary power to sustain the human spirit. Based on Markus Zusak’s best-selling novel, the film gives new talent Sophie Nélisse (Monsieur Lazhar, JDIFF 2012) the opportunity to shine in the lead role.
In 1938, near Munich, Rosa and Hans Hubermann take in nine-year-old Liesel. Kind Hans bonds with his foster daughter through their shared love of words as he teaches her to read her first book. Into this sphere of warmth and safety, amid the turmoil of Nazi Germany, comes Max, the Jewish son of Hans’s World War I comrade. Confined to the basement, Max asks Liesel each day to describe the outside world, encouraging her to make words her own as she grows into a young woman and a storyteller. This beautiful film is full of contrasts, balancing the innocent joys of childhood against the horrendous realities of a world at war.
Mill Valley Film Festival
‘If there can be such a thing as a sweet, reflective fable about death and the Holocaust, The Book Thief is it’
Rolling Stone
Winner, Audience Favourite Award, Mill Valley Film Festival
