“The Book Thief” is a film adaptation of a bestselling novel about a young girl in Nazi Germany whose love of books helps sustain her through the war. It features a strong cast headed up by the amazing Geoffrey Rush. 

Narrated by an unseen but often surprisingly gentle Death (Roger Allam), the film opens shortly before World War II begins. Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) is traveling by train with her mother and sick brother to a small town in Germany. Death takes the brother, an event that haunts Liesel. Her Communist mother is ordered to a camp, as her father was. Now alone, the girl is sent to live with a poor couple in a small German town. Her new mother Rosa (Emily Watson) seems harsh but her new father Hans (Rush), an often-unemployed sign-painter, is a kindly man with a warm sense of humor. 

Although Death narrates the story, it’s really told from a child’s point of view. At school, Liesel defies the town bully and is befriended by Rudy (Nico Liersch). Hans helps the illiterate Liesel learn to read, writing new words on the basement walls as she memorizes them. As her passion for books grows, the girl takes to sometimes stealing them, even from a pile of banned books to be burned. 

When war breaks out, the town is filled with nationalistic fervor and the children join Hitler Youth groups. But one night the son of a man who saved Hans’ life in the last war comes to their home seeking refuge, a young Jewish man named Max (Ben Schnetzer). As the family hides him, Max and young Liesel bond over a love of books and storytelling. 

Despite its wartime setting and grim narrator, “The Book Thief” is a well-meaning, often sweet movie with an appealing premise, but it is only moderately successful. The film is visually gorgeous and young Sophie has a soulful face that is hard to resist. But the power of the story’s underlying theme, about creativity and imagination trumping conformist thinking, is undermined by a too-simplistic approach. 

The film’s best point is its acting, which is strong, particularly Rush and Watson. However, its presentation of Nazi Germany is too soft and safe. Director Brian Percival is often heavy-handed in his use of sentimentality, which is unnecessary because Liesel’s story is already moving enough. Some viewers will embrace its constant wave of emotion but others will find the film’s lack of subtlety and cloying tone unrealistic. 

Despite shortcomings, Rush may garner an Oscar nod for his appealing performance and the film surely will launch 13-year-old Sophie Nélissse towards fame. Among the best scenes are between Rush and the doe-eyed young girl, as her foster father teaches her to read and helps her cope with her difficulties. Rush’s skill as an actor and his touches of humor lift the scenes and add nuance to the whole film. 

One of the film’s biggest challenges is that the story runs from 1938 to the end of the war, meaning the child actors portray characters as they go from children to adolescents. Sophie’s Liesel manages this better than Nico Liersch’s Rudy, who still looks about 10 as he is being sent to war as a young teen. The visual mismatch is distracting, adding to other false notes in the film. “The Book Thief” does a better job of evoking the feeling of a young girl who develops a passion for books than it does in evoking a sense of wartime Nazi Germany. The war and the Nazis sometimes are so sanitized it seems more like an inconvenience. The sweet tone and beautiful photography undermine the story’s serious message about the uplifting power of books versus fascistic conformity. 

Nevertheless, audiences may find that moving performances by Rush and Sophie, as well as the underlying message of creativity over totalitarianism, will overcome “The Book Thief’s” flaws.