I’ve watched five of the nominees for the 2013 Best Picture Oscar on DVD, courtesy of Netflix. I am not gaga about any. The Book Thief received only one nomination, for Musical Score, but I enjoyed it infinitely more than the others. Although it is yet another WWII story, it takes a refreshing course, concentrating on character, relationships and suspense, not atrocities and action. A ten-year-old girl is taken from her mother, a communist, and sent to live with a foster family in a small town during the time of the Third Reich’s madness. The indomitable Liesel is played wonderfully by pre-teen Sophie Nelisse, a Canadian who, despite her tender age, already had six credits when she took the part. She has the great fortune of landing loving foster parents, played by the brilliant Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. Although illiterate at the start of the narrative, Liesel pilfers a gravedigger’s manual at the site of her little brother’s burial. Taught to read by her step-dad, she later “borrows” classics from the mayor’s wife, who spotted her taking one from a stack burned by the Nazis. I haven’t been as touched by a movie in a while. Is it flawless? Of course not. Several contributors at IMDb were annoyed by the use of mixed language, English with splashes of German. I thought it was fine. One was insulted that the Nazi speeches were entirely in German. Although I understand the point, there’s no denying that Germany sparked savage carnage, so I must disagree that the film is biased. WWII is a part of its history its citizens must accept and admit. The events in the film were not as predictable as I’d expected, which is a major plus for such a work. It was directed by Brian Percival, who did several episodes of the wildly popular Downton Abbey and other BBC productions. Michael Petroni adapted the screenplay from the novel, which I have not read, by Markus Zuzak, an Australian. It spent 230 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and won several awards. 53,000+ users at IMDb have rated the film, forging to a consensus of 7.6 of ten. I rate it 4.5 of five. Perhaps it brought out the sentimental old fool in me. It runs 131 minutes. I did not pause it once. As the closing credits were rolling, I heard the fireworks going off in Coney Island. Late in the story, Liesel and her best friend, Rudy, stand at the foot of an isolated dock and shout: “I hate Hitler!” He was a monster like Islamist terrorists or the savages that shot down the Malaysian plane. Not even children are safe from them.
There are several people I look forward to seeing while I'm running the floating book shop. Some I've never even spoken with, such as the tall, lean blonde who lives in the apartment building at the corner of 84th Street and Bay Parkway. What fascinates me, aside from her fashion model good looks, is the tattoo of the snake with its fangs bared on her upper right arm. I wonder what the story behind it is. Of course, it may be nothing more than the foolishness of youth.
My thanks to the kind folks who purchased books today.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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