"The Book Thief"

Liesel is a young girl, on her way to live with new adoptive parents. Having already experienced loss at a young age, with the passing of her younger brother, she now is to start a life with new parents as her mother wishes her to be safe from the clutches of the Nazis.
She is introduced to Hans and Rosa, the two very different from each other, he being the one she can relate to, laugh with, and Rosa is a stern german housewife. As the war starts, the Nazis begin their campaign, keen to exterminate all material that they believe makes unclean their way of life, and so destroy books by the library load.
Initially unable to read, Liesel is taught by her adoptitive father, and not only does her learning grow but as a person too. She befriends Rudy, a young german boy. But she meets another young man, when Hans and Rosa take into hiding Max, the son of a close friend of Hans's. With his being a Jew, he must remain out of sight, or put at risk the whole family.
With her knowledge increasing, so does Liesel's need to read more books. She visits the wife of a local German official whilst returning some clothing that Rosa has ironed. She discovers shelves of books, and is allowed to visit and to read, but soon the arrangement comes to an end. So Liesel uses her initiative and 'borrows' a book every now and then.
The books become important not only for her enjoyment, but she passes that enjoyment on to others whether to Max when he becomes ill, or to all the townfolk as they huddle for safety in the air raid shelter as the bombs drop.

Initially I thought that the film was a sedate story, seeming to not want to show anything too graphic or anything too harrowing. But the real beauty comes from the that we grow to love and care about the characters in the film, especially the main family members. We really take them into our hearts, and that is because of the great performances from Oscar favourites Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, and also from newcomers like Sophie Nelisse and Nico Liersch who do brilliant work for actors so young.
I was quite taken aback by the Narrator, it was very much the surprise, but nicely done, and beautifully delivered by Roger Allam.

The film has beautiful cinematography and has a first class score courtesy of the legend that is John Williams. A delight for the ear and haunting in equal measure.
If one feels that this is a PG13 version of the war, then it most certainly saves its emotional punch for the finale. Certainly it was unexpected, brilliantly done, and had this viewer in tears. And the reason is again back to well written characters, who you take an interest in, its the heart of any movie.

An ending that you won't forget, and a film you won't forget.........9 out of 10.