THE READER

MPAA Rating: R for some scenes of sexuality and nudity.
Runtime: 124 min


After seeing this film, I conclude, the book must have been a very good one since the film is really worth seeing. I think there are two kind of people wanting to see this film, the one who want to see an Oscar nominated film with ethical complexities, and the one who wanted to enjoy some thought provoking soft porn (as if such genre ever exist).

As always, Nazi related movies are abundant throughout the ages but this one dwelve deeper into the consciousness. This film is not an excuse but a disturbing question whether a hideous crime could be redeemed and whether a single information that can make one of the perpetrators got a light sentence is justified morally. Yes it is a very complex thing I received from this film and I think for Germans, this film is really important. I even think that this film should be in German, to give a more authentic look.

The lead character, Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes as an adult; David Kross as a teenager) has his first meeting with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) in West Berlin in 1958. At the beginning it was just another love affair that lasted in the summer, the Last Tango in Paris kind of affair and director Stephen Daldry doesn't shy on parading nude scenes. During their so called affair, Michael reads passages of literature to her. Then Hannah vanishes only to appear later after Michael is a law student in the university with a shocking revelation: Hanna was an SS guard in Auschwitz and Michael has a piece of information that could make Hanna's sentence in the court lighter.

But revealing that, would mean revealing that Michael had an affair, would he do that? Especially after he knows what crime Hanna has done. The emotional breakdown creates a deep moral dilemma and obsessive conflict for Michael in years to come. The adult Michael sentence himself in loneliness and introversion. One cannot be wrong to guess that the adult Michael still root for Hanna but her crimes complicates the matter. Kate Winslet once again show an Oscar worthy performance and the not so known beyond Germany David Kross surely has talent.