A few weeks ago, I finally had the chance to watch a book-movie adaptation of one of my favorite novels, The Book Thief. Rarely has a movie impacted me to this extent, and I'm quite satisfied with how true the movie stayed to this beloved book of mine.
If I were to choose my favorite aspect of the movie, I'd say it was the brilliant cast. Their acting skills were phenomenal, and each and every one of them portrayed their respective characters accurately. My personal favorite character, Rudy, was exactly how I imagined the lemon-colored haired boy; everything from being obsessed with Jesse Owens to his mannerisms were right on the dot.
However, the best actor in my opinion was, of course, Geoffrey Rush. Much like the book, he is the one who brought those moments of happiness to the otherwise dreary setting - which, by the way, was portrayed perfectly - and really delivered the lovable character of Hans well.
I think my only complaint is the absence of Death for the entire middle of the movie. He makes an appearance (not literally) at the beginning, plays quite an important role in the ending, but was uncharacteristically mute for the bulk of the movie. I wish he was as present in the movie as he was in the book, because his commentary and foreshadowing made the novel even more heart-breaking.
By the end of the film, everyone was sniffling at the least, or crying ugly sobs (naturally I was the latter). I'll admit the ending was a bit rushed; if it was drawn out more it would have had more of an impact. Nonetheless, The Book Thief is a great example of how movie-book adaptations should be, and gives us a spectacular visual of the book.
Was this better than the book, though? Psshht. No.