The Reader

I find the best way to go into a film is to know as little about it as possible. I didn't know a thing about 'The Reader' before buying it on Amazon other than it starred Kate Winslet (who won an oscar) and Ralph Fiennes and Winslet plays yet another character who spends a good portion of a film wearing absolutely nothing and having sex. Sounded like a winning purchase ('Little Children' was a great movie after all). Turns out 'The Reader' is one of the best films I've seen in the last few years. It has a richly layered plot of human drama that hits on the generational attitudes of post-WWII Germany, the Holocaust, and brings up questions of guilt and blame.'The Reader' follows the character Michael Berg, a lawyer in Berlin who's distant with other people, particularly the women in his life. We learn through extended flash-backs that Michael at age 15 secretly carried on an affair with an older woman named Hanna. Along with sexual confrontations Michael and Hanna connect through stories as Hanna asks Michael to read books to her before (and sometimes during and after) their love-making. After the affair ends we follow Michael through college to present day (or 1995 in the movie's terms) and we see how his relationship with Hanna has effected the rest of his life, especially after witnessing a high-profile trial involving the Holocaust with Hanna as a defendant!What makes 'The Reader' work so well for me is that it doesn't provide any easy answers or solutions for it's characters. Michael is constantly confused and trying to understand, not just the actions of other characters in the film but his own emotions as well. Every decision he makes has a lasting impact on his life and this is perfectly realised in the story.As much as I love this film I do have two major complaints. No doubt anyone who's read Bernhard Schlink's book (also titled 'The Reader' on which this movie is based) knows a certain twist involving Hanna's character in the middle of the film. While this reveal is made obvious early on it's still treated as a major plot-twist through Michael's eyes and the montage really wasn't necessary.The other element that didn't strike true is the handling of the impact of the Holocaust. Despite being a major theme, the Holocaust is very much under-played throughout the movie and for the most part this is successful (and I loved how the uncomfortable confrontation between Ralph Fiennes and Lina Olin played out in the end). It was however very hard to get a grasp on the true horror of Hanna's actions, despite some emotional character reactions. Even Michael's walk through an abandond concentration camp didn't give weight to the heavy emotions the character must've been feeling. The audience is still treated as an outsider.Lots of praise for 'The Reader' comes from the performances of it's main three actors. Kate Winslet has always been a high-profile actress and in my opinion has never been better portraying Hanna from her mid-thirties to elderly age towards the end of the story. Ralph Fiennes is equally good playing a man who's been haunted his entire life by his past and the decisions he's made. Screen legend Bruno Ganz is given a great role as Michael's Law-teacher and he's excellent! Perhaps the best performance of the film, though is by unknown actor David Kross who plays Michael from age 15 to 18 (where most of the film takes place). Watching him change from naive boy to young adult coming to terms with some harsh realizations really commands your attention.Despite some complaints, 'The Reader' gripped me and held my interest from beginning to end. I was absolutely mesmerized by this film and I very much recommend it to anyone who likes good human-drama as well as movies about Germany's attitudes towards the Holocaust.(For like-movies check out: Europa Europa, The Tin Drum, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and The Pianist.)

This movie is one of the best movies I have ever watched. It brings out the true human spirit and touches the human soul deeper than any other movie I have ever seen. It touches my heart, mind and soul. I recommend that if you ever get a chance to watch it please do.

It's been awhile since I've been totally overwhelmed by a movie. Having seen THE READER (several times, along with all the extras in this DVD), I remain officially dumbstruck. A flood of emotions sweep over me when I think about, or discuss, this moving portrayal of guilt, shame, turmoil, anguish, remorse, tormented love--and reclamation--set in post-WW II Germany and based on Bernhard Schlink's internationally acclaimed novel. The story reflects Germany's relentless guilt, pain, and denial, as the succeeding generations come to grips with the horrors of its Nazi past. Or, better yet, doesn't come to grips.And how is this struggle allegorically portrayed? An affair, a summer fling in 1958, between 36-year-old Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) and 15-year-old Michael Berg (David Kross as the youth, Ralph Fiennes as the man). The affair is doomed from the start, yet for one fleeting summer Hanna and Michael are the fulcrums of one another's lives--especially when Michael, either before or after their lovemaking, reads to Hanna. And he reads everything: literature, plays, poetry; and Hanna is so very moved. Why?The affair ends abruptly, and Michael moves on with his life. As a law student he signs up for a seminar studying a war trial now taking place--and Hanna is one of the defendants. Beforehand, Michael was firmly in agreement with his law school peers in their condemnation of the generation that was either duplicitous, or looked the other way, as Nazi atrocities were committed. Now, he's torn, because before his eyes is the woman he once loved--a proud, stubborn woman willing to pay any price to hide her shame--and Michael, at the cost of haunting regret, does not reveal information that would aid Hanna. Subsequently, Michael is distant, aloof, tentative, unemotional, with all his relationships--even his relationship with his daughter. As Hanna ages in prison, Michael reaches out to her in the only distant way he knows how: He reads books on a cassette recorder and ships the tapes to her. The story moves on to its tragic conclusion--yet we are given a glimpse that maybe, perhaps, Michael is moving towards his own reclamation.Kudos to director Stephen Daldry for bringing such a complex, tragic, and cerebral story to the screen. The cast is superb, especially Kate Winslet; this, by far, is her best role. Extra features include interviews with the cast and crew, along with a very humorous vignette depicting Winslet's ordeal each day sitting in a makeup chair being aged more than 30 years (Winslet's wry humor definitely shows this lady has her feet firmly on the ground). THE READER will have you talking and thinking about its haunting story a long time; a must-have for all collectors of quality cinema.--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning