Holiday movie watch: A first peek at 'The Book Thief'

The Book Thief may technically be a young adult book, but every person who's recommended it to me so far (with great enthusiasm, it's worth noting) has been an adult. The story itself has all-ages appeal, following a foster girl whose adoptive parents take in a young Jewish man in Nazi Germany. The book drew raves for its innovative writing style, which includes having Death as its narrator. The trailer for the movie just released, and while there are no voice-overs from 'Death' heard, it appears the feature will be emotionally riveting. An opening title card boasts that the movie comes "From the studio that brought you Life of Pi," an unusual credit, but an apt one given that both films are adaptations of popular yet literary bestsellers. Pi, too, had a distinctive writing style that become more straightforward cinematically. I suspect that The Book Thief, if it gets good reviews, will follow a similar trajectory to Pi: a potential spot in the top ten among the Best Picture nominees, and a scattering of other nominations. However, World War II movies have always done extremely well at the Oscars, and that may give the picture more standing than Pi did.

In the trailer, Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush is a standout. With a glance, he's believable as a kind-hearted foster parent who's courageous enough to house an "enemy of state" in his basement. A two-time Oscar nominee, Emily Watson, plays his wife. The young French-Canadian actress Sophie Nélisse has the leading role as the book-loving girl, and she seems incredibly at home in the part, which is only her second notable role after a part in Monsieur Lazhar.

The 20th Century Fox production has been unusually quick. It moved up from a winter 2014 to a November 15, 2013, release date, which is also something of a vote of confidence. The director of a number of "Downton Abbey" episodes, Brian Percival, helms, and those that hail from television are often known for being able to work quickly. With a release date in prime Oscar territory, it looks like The Book Thief will be one to watch, both in theatres and during awards season.