Cinematic Adaptation of Markus Zusak’s Novel, The Book Thief : A Newfangled Perspective on The Nazi War, Anti-Semitism, and Narrative

The article aims to qualitatively and descriptively examine the cinematic adaptation of Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief. We compare the novel as a corpus with Percival’s film and examine cinematic elements and the motivations in detail. This article will focus on three motivations in the film adaptation: economic lures, cultural capital, and personal and political motives. We support the hypothesis with the scenes in the film and the secondary data. In Zusak’s novel, there are explorations about the atrocities and anti-Semitism during the Holocaust through Death or the narrator. The film reflects the conditions during the Nazi reign (1939-1942). However, Percival refines the poignant story of the Holocaust through a young girl’s eyes. It also deflects the audience's attention from Nazi atrocities. The film is not a film to pursue the violence during the Nazi reign in Munich; instead, it elevates the audience’s impression into lovable sides that attract their empathy. Although the film depicts the impacts of war, Percival removes the violent scenes so that all ages could consume the film. We argue that the film highlights humanity and the warm family relationship among Germans or between Germans and Jewish. Percival excellently emphasizes women’s resistance, bravery, love, and affections in his film. The director fails to present the narrator as a unique character like in the book.