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The Book Thief

The Book Thief

Drama · 2013

While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.

Movie details

The Book Thief

“Courage beyond words.”

2013 Drama 2h 11m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Book Thief?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Brian Percival

Written by

Michael Petroni

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Hans Hubermann

Sophie Nélisse

Sophie Nélisse

Liesel Meminger

Emily Watson

Emily Watson

Rosa Hubermann

Nico Liersch

Nico Liersch

Rudy Steiner

Ben Schnetzer

Ben Schnetzer

Max Vandenburg

Heike Makatsch

Heike Makatsch

Liesel's mother

Barbara Auer

Barbara Auer

Ilsa Hermann

Court is in session

Put The Book Thief on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.