Last night, courtesy of Netflix, I revisited my favorite film of past few years,
The Book Thief (2013). I was as moved by it as the first time, misty from the get go, tears trickling down my cheeks during the saddest scene. It is touching, powerful and beautiful. It is the story of a pre-teen girl whose mom, a communist, has been arrested by the Nazis. She is sent to live with foster parents. Taught to read by the step-father, played by Geoffrey Rush with his usual brilliance, she develops a passion for reading and writing. She steals books, which she shares with a young male Jew being hidden in the basement. The main theme is decency in the face of evil, amongst the many in the populace who have embraced Hitler. Emily Watson is wonderful as the hard-nosed step-mom. But the film belongs to Sophie Nelisse, the girl. Liesel. She reaches into the heart and soul. Now 16, she has been in six productions since then, and another yet to be released. I was curious about what the director, Brian Percival, and screenwriter, Michael Petroni, have done since. Percival has been at the helm of
A Song for Jenny (2015), which is about the London terrorist bombing of 2005, and
Dark Angel, a two-part mini-series about a female serial killer that has yet to air. Petroni wrote and directed
Backtrack (2015), starring Adrien Brody as a shrink suffering suppressed memories. a highly underrated movie.
The Book Thief was adapted from the 2006 novel by Markus Zusak, an Australian. He has since written only one other,
Bridge of Clay, which seems to have been pulled from distribution. Only an audio version is available at Amazon. The publisher, Doubleday, does not list it on its website. The book has a solid rating of four stars at Good Reads, where 93 people left an opinion. What the heck happened to it? I was unable to find any more info on the strange situation.
My thanks to the kind folks who bought books on this gorgeous day, especially Jack of Chase, who purchased four thrillers. Conspiracy Guy settled his small debt. As we shook hands he pulled me into an embrace and planted several kisses on my temple. Yuck. He'd had a wee bit too much to drink.
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
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