The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, a twelve-year-old girl sent to live with a foster family in Germany during WWII. Her brother, who was sent with her, dies on the trip. Thus starts a long and desperate journey for the girl.

When she arrives at her foster family, she cannot even read. But her foster-father – papa – teaches her. She eventually reads what she can, and when she has no access to books, she does not shy away from stealing them.

Around her, the world is coming to pieces. The Nazis wreak havoc on their own citizens as much as they do on the neighboring countries. This makes this movie a good study of what life was like in Germany during the war, for the citizens – and the children – of the Germany.

However, the movie moved slowly, and the “book thief” theme didn’t make much sense to me. It seemed like the whole plot was just an excuse to show life in Nazi Germany. There are much better movies about that. I didn’t read the famous, acclaimed book, so I guess it must be a great story and a well structured novel. The film, while it engaged me generally, left me wanting for more – much more.

Rating: **