SINGAPORE — Movies about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust are always tricky because they deal with a time and place that is loaded with so much real-life drama and historical baggage that any fictionalisation can seem inadequate at best and, at worst, offensive.

One of the problems with this adaptation of Markus Zusak’s acclaimed, bestselling novel is that it treats the horrors of Nazi Germany primarily as fodder for one sensitive budding writer Liesel (Sophie Nelisse). While the film is compelling, well-acted and has some inspired moments, this all-too-familiar tale feels a little too measured, a little too glossy and too overtly sentimental for the weighty subject it has taken on.

Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson turn in their usual strong performances and young Nelisse keeps up.

The best parts of the film centre around Liesel’s disillusionment with the world around her, and her resolution to do the right thing no matter how great the cost. But the too polished and precise direction of Brian Percival (best known for directing TV’s Downton Abbey) fail to nail any of the emotional punches it so desperately wants to connect in order to drive home the harsh realities of war-torn Nazi Germany.

(PG, 131 mins)