Moving wartime drama based on the best-selling novel by Australian author Markus Zusak.
The Book Thief tells the story of an extraordinary young girl called Liesel (Sophie Nelisse), who is sent to live with a foster family in WWII Germany. Intrigued by the only book she brought with her, and disgusted by the Nazis’ book-burning displays, she falls deeper in love with literature.
With the help of her new parents Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa (Emily Watson), and Max (Ben Schnetzer), a young Jewish man who hides in her home after the onset of the Holocaust, she learns to read and creates a magical world that inspires them all.
This profound drama, which received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for John Williams’ score, offers a fascinating, yet dark account –
after all, it is narrated by Death himself (Roger Allam) – of the horrors of war from an innocent child’s point of view.
The Book Thief is a Film programme that first aired in 2013 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
