THE BOOK THIEF
Director Brian Percival
Cert: 12A, 131 mins
Narrated by death (Roger Allam), The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany, but transcends this specific context with an emotionally riveting story about life, death, and humanity.
The eponymous thief, Liesel Miminger (Sophie Nelisse), is sent to stay with her adoptive parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson). Hans teaches her how to read, and she soon learns to love the transcendent power of stories, reading whatever books she can find. Books are in short supply, so she often resorts to stealing them.