This movie is a film adaptation of the novel with the same name by Markus Zusak. The story is about a young girl named Liesel Meminger who is brought to live with her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann in Munich, Germany during World War II. She picks up a book from the ground when she's leaving her brother's burial site since he died on the train on the way to Munich. While living with her parents, she begins learning how to read and starts stealing books to build up her skills and provide herself with the happiness of reading different stories that shape her life and others around her. A Jew named Max Vadenburg comes to their house and they try their best to hide him from the Nazis and he and Liesel develop their friendship from there. She also meets a boy named Rudy Steiner and becomes best friends with him.
I wanted to read the book since last year but I finally got around it two weeks ago and I loved it very much. The same also goes for the movie too. Of course, there were some changes from the book, but the details are minor and they didn't bother me. I felt that all of the characters were matched perfectly with their actors and actresses, especially Liesel and Hans. The characters were how I imagined them in the book. Seeing Liesel and Rudy's friendship was very cute, especially since they were kids. I haven't seen a cute child friendship like them since Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the first Harry Potter movie. All the friendships/relationships were strong and had so much heart. The cinematography was beautiful and it felt like you were in Nazi Germany during the 1940s. I also give prompts to the wonderful score in the film by John Williams, who also did the scores for the first three Harry Potter films. The movie captured the spirit of the book.
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Overall, the film is excellent and I do recommend it. It's both a good adaptation and a stand alone film.