Tag: Geoffrey Rush

The Book Thief

“The Book Thief”, based on Markus Zusak’s novel, is both tragic and whimsical to a fault.

The Book Thief Movie

There’s no rule that Nazi Germany be depicted only as gray with splashes of red swastika flags, but to see it prettied up in snow white colors for much of Brian Percival’s “The Book Thief” makes the contrasting themes a bit off-putting.

Although it gets a pass on the light-hearted and nuanced performances of its lead actors, “The Book Thief” forms an unholy marriage between historical melodrama and a childlike fable. It feels overly precious, and it becomes both tragic and whimsical to a fault.

Percival’s film is based on Markus Zusak’s novel of the same name, and it follows a little girl named Liesel (Sophie Nelisse of “Monsieur Lazhar”) as she’s being dropped off with a new German family. Her mother is a Communist on the run and her younger brother has just passed away from illness, and now Liesel is alone with her new father and mother, Hans and Rosa (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson).

Liesel cannot read and slowly begins to learn with her father, but when Hans takes in a sickly Jew on the run named Max (Ben Schnetzer), Liesel befriends him and helps nurse him back to health by reading him banned and stolen books. Continue reading “The Book Thief”

The King’s Speech

“The King’s Speech” was made in the 1940s, I’m almost sure of it. Director Tom Hooper’s film feels so much like one, and it’s just as good as anything in that golden age of movies.

For example, a majority of the films released during that time went to promoting the war effort and used World War II as a real world back drop. “The King’s Speech” is based on the true story of King George VI, who despite a crippling fear of public speaking and a terrible speech impediment, overcame his disability to unite the country during war time while the whole world was for the first time listening on radio.

And everything about the film screams that classical quality. The screen acting is superb and charismatic. The dialogue is fast, witty and poignant. The spacious cinematography compliments the dim art direction that begs to have been shot in black and white.

“The King’s Speech” is a true throwback to the good ‘ole days, and I suspect this film that won the top prize at the Toronto Film Festival will give “The Social Network” a run for its money in the Best Picture race, becoming a battle between the values of new and old Hollywood. Continue reading “The King’s Speech”