Publisher's Synopsis
Collection of dramas based on bestselling novels. 'The Book Thief' (2014) is an animated adaptation of the popular novel by Markus Zusak, directed by Brian Percival. The film tells the story of Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), an eccentric young girl who is adopted by working-class German couple Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) as World War II looms. When Jewish refugee Max (Ben Schnetzer) arrives at the family's door they risk their own safety to shelter him from the Nazis. It marks the beginning of an unusual friendship between Max and Liesel, who shares her love of stories with Max and begins stealing books for him to read during his confinement. However, with the crackdown on Jews intensifying, the world of words may not be enough to shelter Max and Liesel from the tumultuous political reality that engulfs them. 'Life of Pi' (2012) is Ang Lee's adaptation of the fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel. Suraj Sharma stars as Pi Patel, a 16-year-old zookeeper's son from Pondicherry who finds himself stranded on a small boat in the Pacific Ocean in the company of a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger following the shipwreck of the freighter on which he and his family were sailing for Canada. Over the course of several months Pi manages to survive on the meagre supplies of food and water he finds on the boat, and also takes up fishing, while in his half-delirious state he muses on various aspects of animal behaviour, religion and the meaning of life. 'Never Let Me Go' (2010) is based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel and directed by Mark Romanek. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield star respectively as Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, three childhood friends who reunite as adults to look back on their days at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic but markedly offbeat boarding school in rural England. As the former classmates journey into their shared past, painful memories of love, jealousy and betrayal are brought to the surface, and the sinister secret at the heart of their unusual upbringing is finally revealed.
