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MOVIE ADAPTATION of The Book Thief
read my review on The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It's been a few months since I finished reading the book, but only now do I finally make time to watch the movie adaptation - because I was a bit worried the movie would disappoint me if I watched it right after I'm done with the book. It turns out I was only disappointed a little. Although the movie definitely left out a whole bunch of important scenes because of the limited time, it still delivered the main plot and the important message of the story. So here's my (hopefully) non-spoiling review on the movie adaptation of The Book Thief.
The movie begins with the narration by Death, who started off with the introduction of Liesel Meminger and the death of her brother. She was then taken to her new parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, and befriends a boy called Rudy Steiner in her new neighborhood. Liesel learned the danger of living in Nazi Germany, because she cannot even say out loud how she hated the Führer, Hitler. However, later in the story, a Jewish man named Max came to their house. And due to Hans Hubermann's vow to Max's family, they had to take him in - even though it means they would die if anyone else found out.
For those of you who haven't read this amazing book, I'll stop my plot summary at that - so I won't spoil anything. There are actually a lot more things happening in the book aside from that main conflict, but the movie adaptation basically focuses on that part; as well as displaying the cruelty of those dark days. As for me personally, since I've read the book, there's nothing new or surprising in the movie adaptation. But I don't know why I kept tearing up from the beginning to the end of the movie. I already know how it's going to end, but still it made me cry :')
Compared to the book, the movie is a lot more fast-paced - but still delivered the important points of the story. But as much as I enjoy the movie, I'm still a little bit disappointed because it left out some of my favorite scenes/parts from the book. The first one, I'm sad because the movie didn't show the storybook that Max made for Liesel: The Standover Man and The Word Shaker. Those two books beautifully portrays how Max treasures Liesel presence through his suffering. However, in the movie Max just gave Liesel a blank notebook for her to write in (which is not less important - because it plays a huge part in the ending - but I wish the movie would at least show one more book).
The second one, the scene when Hans Hubermann gave bread to a Jewish man when the Jews are parading through the street. No doubt, I love Hans Hubermann's character in the movie right from the start - but it's also probably because I've read the book first. But I'm so disappointed because the movie only showed when Hans Hubermann was trying to help a Jewish man in the neighborhood who's about to be taken away. I know that this scene serves the same purpose; but I think it's less emotional and not as impactful as the bread-giving scene in the book. There are obviously many more scenes that are not included in the movie adaptation, but for me those two are the ones that I actually hoped to see in the movie.
I have loved the characters since I read the book, so right when the movie start I instantly have a deep affection to each of them. Even after watching the movie adaptation, my most favorite character still goes to Hans Hubermann, played by Geoffrey Rush. He has the most adorable expression, and I absolutely loveee it when he played the accordion ! I also love Rudy Steiner's character, played by Nico Liersch, and he's just the cutest person ! It's also very adorable how other people sounds like calling him 'Udy' instead of 'Rudy' because of their accent. My favorite scene of his is when he swim in the ice cold water just to save Liesel's notebook. Awww, Rudy ♥. I mentioned in my book review that I loved Max Vandenburg's character; but his character doesn't show up very much because most of the time he's sick and just lies in the basement - so I can't say much about his character in the movie. At the end, even though the character relationships was not portrayed as deeply as it was in the book, I think every single cast portrayed the characters perfectly. And most importantly it managed to bring my favorite characters to life.
Overall, despite my disappointments, I know that the movie adaptation tried its' best to deliver the story within 2-hour duration. I understand because the book definitely has a long story to tell, and I know two hours won't be enough to cover everything. And the movie also doesn't feel as emotional as the book because I already know the whole story and ending beforehand. Recently I talked to a friend who just watched this movie without reading the book; and she totally enjoyed and loved it (and of course cried). So I guess people will still be able to relate and understand the story without reading the book. But since I've read the book, I would still say that the book is better :)) For those of you who haven't seen this movie, give it a try; because it's heartwarming yet heartbreaking at the same time.
"I wanted to tell the book thief, she was one of the few souls that made me wonder what it was to live. But in the end, there were no words. Only peace. The only truth I truly know, is that I am haunted by humans." - Death
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