AS tensions escalate across Germany prior to the Second World War, little Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse) bids a tearful farewell to her Communist mother (Heike Makatsch) and is delivered into the care of foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson). With encouragement from Hans, Liesel learns to read and she develops a voracious appetite for books, which is sated in secret by the mayor’s wife Ilsa (Barbara Auer). Based on the international bestseller of the same name by Markus Zusak, The Book Thief is a beautifully crafted story of courage and determination that compels us to care about the heroine as she risks her life to protect the people she loves.

Nelisse is an endearing screen presence, whose innocence provides a glimmer of light during the darkness of the film’s tense and harrowing moments. She gels splendidly with Rush as a man of principle with a heart of gold, and Watson is imperious in opening scenes as an iron-fisted matriarch. John Williams’ Oscar-nominated score resonates loud and clear and is complemented by excellent production design and costumes.

Cert 12, 131 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment