The Book Thief.

My opening film at 2014’s Glasgow Film Festival was the Downton Abbey director Brian Percival's The Book Thief (2013). Adapted by Michael Petroni from a best selling novel by Australian author Markus Zusak published in 2005. Narrated by Death and set in Germany during World War 2 it describes 12 year old Liesel Meminger's relationship with her working class foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, after her younger brother dies and her mother has to go into hiding because of her communist beliefs. Liesel also forms a relationship with Rudy Steiner a young blond German boy eight months her senior who falls in love with her the moment they meet. But when Hans decides to repay an old debt by sheltering a young Jew putting the whole family in danger. Meanwhile Liesel's growing love of books leads her to form a relationship with the local Burgomasters wife.

 

A family's safety is put at risk....

....when they hide a young jewish boy in their basement.

The film starts with The Narrator reminding us that 'death is inevitable' but in this observers opinion this rather melodramatic voice over by the English stage actor Roger Allam, who has also appeared in three Ken Loach films including 2012 The Angels Share, is not required because of its daft above the clouds fairy tale approach which does tend to reverberate throughout the movie treating the Nazi persecution of the Jews in a particularly handed fashion. My other problems with Percival's film is that it comes across as very bookish, giving a chapter orientated approach to the story telling, and the films strange combination of English and German accents and on screen subtitles. Bearing in mind that the complete story was shot and filmed in Germany it would have been better to have German actors and therefore subtitles. But let's not take anything away from the cast. Sophie Nelisse plays Liesel, Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson excel as her foster parents with Ben Schnetzer the Jewish refugee Max and Nico Liersch as Rudy. Similar to the Boy in Striped Pyjamas (2008) and Lore (2012) the story is related from a child's prospective.

The Kings Speech

Bertie and Elizabeth.

When a film is hyped up and wins as many awards as The Kings Speech (2010) it usually turns out to be some what of a disappointment, for example Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire I could never understand what the fuss was about, a mediocre offering at best. But I must admit that the Tom Hooper directed film is in a class of its own. Its premise is simple; it’s about a man who’s given a job of work to do and is ill-equipped to carry it out! After the death of his father George V in 1936 and the abdication of his brother Edward V111 who expressed a desire to marry the American double divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson, Albert Duke of York, known as Bertie to his family, reluctantly became King George V1. During this period in history was the advent of what we know now as mass media in fact George V was the first monarch to address his “subjects” via the radio and there lies the problem. Bertie was incapable of giving any kind of speech without badly stammering and with the outbreak of war looming the new King, along with his wife Elizabeth, would be required to become figureheads with a need to regularly address the nation. Various speech therapists were tried without success until Elizabeth approaches an unorthodox Australian therapist called Lionel Logue, the rest is history.

Coronation Day 1937.

Unless you have been living on Mars you will be aware that The Kings Speech was nominated for 14 and won 7 British Academy Film Awards, three of which were well deserved acting awards. Colin Firth, for the second year running, won Leading Actor for his brilliant portrayal of a King coping with a serious disability, Geoffrey Rush, who dominates ever scene he’s in, for the role as Logue and Helena Bonham Carter splendid as Bertie’s wife Elizabeth. There is no doubt that the strength of this movie is in the acting, the best of which involves the interactions between Firth and Rush. This successful British film will hopefully do very well at the upcoming Oscars and more importantly has put bums on seats at the RBC cinema well into May!