Die Bücherdiebin

Alles, was man zum 260-mal über die Nazis und ihre Opfer wiederholen möchte, in einer übersichtlichen und sentimentalen Ausführung mit einer ultrazarten Musik von John Williams. Die Kinderunschuld, ein herzlicher versteckter Jude, ein großherziger Papa und eine fürsorgliche Mama. Alle haben sich sehr lieb, sind Träger*innen von Familienwerten und auf die Tür klopft die Gestapo. Ein schön aufgenommener Mainstream-Film, der Tränen zum Fließen bringen soll. Geoffrey Rush und Emily Watson verdienen eine größere Filmkunst. (13.02.2014)

Eine schöne Geschichte. Schade, dass die Sprachen ein wenig durcheinandergebracht wurden. Sonst wäre sie perfekt gewesen. Die Figuren sprechen Englisch mit einem deutschen Akzent (eine Ausnahme ist nur die feurige Rede des Bürgermeisters, die ganz auf Deutsch ist). In englischen Sätzen tauchen hier und da deutsche Wörter wie z. B. "ja“, "nein“, "und“ oder "Saumensch“ auf. Auf allen Häusern sind deutsche Aufschriften. Im Film gibt es aber englische Bücher und die Figuren schreiben auch auf Englisch… Das ist eine Sache, mit der man sich beim Lesen der literarischen Vorlage nicht befassen muss. Bei einem Film muss man sich damit aber beschäftigen. Ansonsten habe ich an Die Bücherdiebin nichts auszusetzten. Tolle Schauspielleistungen – an der Spitze mit Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush und Emily Watson, eine Reihe von unvergesslichen Szenen, welche durch Williams’ ausgezeichnete Musik verstärkt wurden (die beste Szene ist die Schneeballschlacht), ein perfekter Erzähler… Ich bin sehr froh, dass ich Die Bücherdiebin auf der großen Leinwand gesehen habe. (21.01.2014)

Some people criticize that the film is too naive and sentimental, that it has an unbelievable view of war, that it's typical Hollywood kitsch, and so on. We must realize that The Book Thief is a stylized spectacle, where we observe the horrors and cruelty of war and Nazi orders through the eyes of a child who approaches the threshold of adolescence and platonic love during the narration but does not cross it. There is a certain naivety and innocence that pertains to this age. The story is not particularly innovative, but the execution is fine, the director knows how to play with details and is able to work with chilling poetry in certain places. In addition, the cast is quite luxurious, Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson are among the best in their categories that film studios can hire, and even though I had a small problem with Sophie Nélisse, I cannot deny that she has a certain charm. Yes, the film wants to move you, but you don't have to be ashamed of being moved by it. If American studio productions were always like this, then we could congratulate ourselves. Overall impression: 75%. (16.08.2017)

On paper, this film must come across as a disproportionately drawn-out and highly sentimental amalgamation of all the clichés one can recall from stories about evil Nazis and the power of friendly values in times of war. But I confess that I found the final form, its effective narrative strategies, the performances, the approach to the viewer and the way the film presents itself so unobtrusively yet compulsively impressive that I have to subjectively increase the lower objective rating. On the poetically ironic commentary of an unusual narrator, on the light tones of Williams's soundtrack, and on the purely humanistic messages through the lens of uncorrupted human souls, I rode comfortably to a powerful cinematic experience that may be too pleasant given the gravity of the subject matter, but what it wants to convey, it conveys effectively and without fail. (16.10.2016)

I like these small – but at the same time very important to each and every one of us – WWII stories. Because they prove that these people had to live through hard times, but they were able to shake it off and go on living. I am incredibly fascinated by that and every single story of these people should be engraved in our souls to realize that our problems are not small, but they can be dealt with gracefully at the same time. The Book Thief is such a beautiful movie, although I have a number of criticisms about it. For example, throughout the entire movie, I kept wondering whether it was a good choice that they were speaking both English and German; the lead actors were speaking English and everybody around them was speaking German to add a proper atmosphere of Germany. To be honest, that really irritated me. On the other hand, I must say that the Görlitz scenery was absolutely flawless. I’ll immediately go there as soon as I get the chance. All that history is downright emanating off it. The story itself is a proper WWII affair. It’s got gorgeous camerawork, the filmmaking is very delicate and the acting is good and proper. Apart from the language barrier, I couldn’t find a single problem with this movie. (11.04.2014)