At
the heart of Markus Zusak’s uplifting novel “The Book Thief” is a curious
little girl. Liesel Meminger’s “crime” (referenced as a “thief” in the title) –
a fascination with books and a desire to amass a collection of her own – pales
in comparison to those being committed in the world in which she lives. She
can’t possibly understand the tumultuous events happening around her, as war
breaks out and she learns that a man named Hitler is responsible for tearing
her family apart.
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| Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
But as her foster father, Hans Hubermann, helps her read the pages of the books
she’s so keen to take, and when she finds a friend in the Hubermann’s new
basement-dwelling houseguest, Max, life begins to change for Liesel. Even in
the darkest of times, the Book Thief learns the power of words, and how they
can change the world.
Author Markus Zusak says he was inspired to write the book by stories told to
him by his parents when he was a young boy in Australia. “It was like a
piece of Europe came into our kitchen when my mom and dad told tales about
growing up in Germany and Austria, the bombings of Munich, and about the
prisoners the Nazis marched through the streets,” says the author. “I
didn’t realize it at the time but those stories led me to want to become a
writer.
With Sophie Nélisse set to portray Liesel, the filmmakers moved quickly to lock
in their long-discussed choices, Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, to portray
Liesel’s new parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Director Percival notes that
from the start, the consummate actors were in sync with his vision for the
film. “I wanted to play everything very naturally, and that’s a style
with which Geoffrey and Emily are very comfortable. Their work really
transcends acting. They own the characters, they are the characters, and
they all fit together beautifully. In working with Geoffrey and Emily,
Sophie has probably had the best master class in the world because she absorbed
the way they approach scenes and think about their roles, and you could see
that rubbing off on her.”
From The King’s Speech to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, the
Oscar®-winning Rush has delivered a series of towering performances. With
THE BOOK THIEF, he became Hans Hubermann. Rush credits the book and
script with providing the initial critical path to Hans. “I think the
book is one of the great classics of contemporary literature, and though I knew
I wanted to play Hans after reading the script, the novel inevitably became a bible
because it offers so much internal observation of the character, and his
rhythm, pace and inspiration.” A house painter by trade, Hans’
constant companion is an old accordion that emits warm, wheezy chords of music.
He appears to be an uncomplicated man, but is as complex as any Rush has
essayed. “I think Hans’ greatest gift is that he has a very acute
emotional intelligence,” which leads to an almost immediate and emotional
rapport with Liesel, he explains. “Hans can read in Liesel that she’s
been through very difficult times and he tries to find ways to draw her out.”
Says Rush: “Hans responds to the glimmer of energy Liesel has buried
inside her and helps bring it to the surface. She starts to love language and
words for the hidden powers they have, instead of the poisonous oratory and
rhetoric surrounding them. Liesel finds an escape – a spiritual retreat
in the magic of language. Once you understand the potential of language you can
understand the potential of ideas outside of your own experience. I hope THE
BOOK THIEF will have a similar effect on an audience. To me, it’s about
discovering the value of empathy.”
Rush and Sophie developed an instant rapport that, says Rush, fed into the
dynamic between their on-screen characters. “The great pleasure of doing this
has been working with Sophie, who’s such a playful actress,” he says.
“She’s extraordinary to be around, and I loved that in between takes of very
dramatic scenes she would be playful. But when it came to playing the
emotional scenes, I was flabbergasted by how focused and how emotionally true
she was.”
Hans’ wife, Rosa, is an equally rich, surprising and complex character that
combines a harsh exterior with well-hidden inner warmth. Rosa regularly calls
her husband, “saukerl!” – German for filthy pig. “In some ways,
Rosa is caustic and seemingly unforgiving,” says Watson. “She’s harsh
with Hans and Liesel, not the sort of person you’d expect to become a foster
parent.”
Over time and with her growing love for Liesel, Rosa is revealed to be a caring
mother to her and a loving, if impatient wife to Hans. Says Watson: “Rosa
has an inner goodness that almost always has her doing the right thing.”
Watson gave considerable thought to Rosa’s backstory, particularly her
marriage. “I think Rosa was young and beautiful once, and probably more
soft-spoken, but the times have changed her. She seems like she’s angry
and disappointed about pretty much everything in her life including her
husband, with whom she’s at best dismissive, at times. But their love for
each other is still evident.”
For Percival, working with Watson seemed destined to happen, because her film
debut in the acclaimed Breaking the Waves was so moving and powerful that it
led him to realize he wanted to direct films. Watson was busy at home with her
children when she received the script for THE BOOK THIEF. “I sat down to read
it that night, and I wept through it,” she remembers. “It was the best script
I’ve read in years.” She was at once drawn to the idea that reading opens up a
world of instant riches: “It’s a love letter to the power of story and the
transcendence of story and storytelling and how it saves lives. That’s an
amazing thing.”
“It was a time of extreme danger and evil and I was inspired by the acts of
kindness during these very dark times,” Zusak continues. “That’s what THE BOOK
THIEF is about: finding beauty in even the ugliest of circumstances. One
of the central themes of the story is that Hitler is destroying people with his
words, and Liesel is stealing back the words, and she’s writing her own story
with them.”
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