The Reader

[Highly rated reviewer]

brilliantly acted, thought provoking

An excellent film which is quintessentially a powerful love story set in post-war Germany between a woman and a young (very young!) man. Their affair ends abruptly but their lives join once more many years later under very different circumstances.

This film is very thought provoking and the viewpoint of the older vs younger generation on the atrocitites that happened during the war is very noticeable.

I really enjoyed this film and thought about it long after viewing. Well worth watching.

The Reader

David Hare and Stephen Daldry, the team responsible for the masterpiece 'The Hours' now go even darker with this period drama set in post-WWII Germany. In an articulate and compelling screenplay, Hare brings to life the controversial novel by Bernhard Schlink, in which bus conductor Hannah Schmitz (Kate Winslet) starts to romance a 15 year old school boy, Micheal (David Kross). This romance has a strange routine to it. He arrives at her flat, undresses, reads to her - passages from his school books, the classics or holiday guides - then they make love. This grows into a passionate and meaningful sexual relationship between them, as he starts to sacrifice spending time with his friends and family, in order to go to Hannah's apartment for their afternoon routine. This results in some frank, but well handled, sex scenes between the Michael and the woman twice his age. Then, unexpectedly, she disappears. He grows older, hurt by the sudden end to his new-found sexual desires and the love he had for Hannah grows into an ache. This leads him, moody and erratic, to take Law at university, thereby changing his surroundings and associates in order to forget the hurt. However, he does meet Hannah again, but in very different and shocking circumstances. There is no denying that the script's eloquence and intelligence are a gift to the actors, especially Kate Winslet, who builds on such wonderful dialogue with her usual excellence. As further plot revelations are uncovered, it may be hard for viewers to retain some sympathy for Hannah's character, but Winslet gives her such a high degree of humanity and depth it is impossible not to find Hannah Schmitz fascinating if not likable. It may be disconcerting to see the actors speaking in English with German accents, reading from English-language books, while things like street signs, public notices and even calendars remain written in German, but it doesn't spoil the mood of the piece, nor does it reduce its level of integrity or believability.

well-polished expensive nothing

Imagine that you are house-hunting. The estate agent hands you particulars of this new property that has everything on your list - spotless decor, quiet neighbourhood, the spaces, bathrooms, kitchen and family-friendly garden that you requested - but you hate it. It does nothing for your spirit but rather requires that you give it love instead of it being a positive factor in your life.

That's what I felt about this film. It seems to say 'be impressed - this is heavyweight stuff. Love death and the holocaust - how not to be moved?' Well, sorry; for me it didn't work. Where was the magic of the cinema in this film? I wasn't moved, or shaken or stirred. I admired the professionalism and beautiful acting, but that wasn't enough.

* * * This review contains spoilers * * *ShowHide

Unmitigated tosh

While undoubtedly well crafted and technically accomplished, this film seeks to evoke sympathy for a character who remains seemingly more ashamed by illiteracy than the murder of scores of human beings. The sex scenes seem designed to make the audience better disposed toward Winslet's character in anticipation of her later exposure as an unrepentant Nazi and participant in mass-murder.

Combine this with the Ralph Feinnes character who becomes devestated by facts that he could not have known about at the time and the film's general use of the holocaust to add thematic weight to the whole sorry tale and you have a film that is an insult to any thinking person

Powerful, moving, thought provoking

Most of us have key relationships in our lives that affect us for years after they end, and herein lies the love story between an older woman and a teenage boy. The story is made powerful enough with a stunning performance by Kate Winslett, but the dimension of her part in the Jewish Holocaust leaves the watcher compelled to engage with themes of responsibility and punishment, persecution and shame.

It seems to me that 65 years after the actual events we are beginning to have enough distance from the horror of the holocaust that we are attempting to understand what makes a person act or stay silent, kill (the job of every soldier) or refuse to kill... No longer black and white, this film weaves shadow with light and attempts to show the complexity of each human situation.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Difficult film

I imagine that this film will annoy some people for trivialising the holocaust since at the heart of the movie is a love affair between a teenager and an older woman which has powerful effects for the young man as he grows to manhood (I hope I am avoiding spoilers here). For me, while I would agree that the main moral issues were reduced, there is still plenty of human complexity to get your teeth into. The performance from Kate Winslet is indeed very good, although she is asked to age rather too much to be believable. The film has an intelligent script and competent direction of believable historical settings. If you were moved by the book I would certainly recommend this film.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Did anyone read the script?

Crass, preposterous and poorly directed and these are some of the more generous thoughts on this piffle.

Dear Kate must have got her oscar for best nips, though in fairness she did her best trying to portray three different characters each distinct from the other.

It's tempting to blame the novel on which this is based. But from all accounts this is even worse as it makes more explicit the claim that Kate's character realised the holocaust was wrong simply by learning to read. Possibly the only thing that director Stephen Baldry did right was to excise this from the cinema version.

Excellent & Gripping

This film is very difficult to leave feeling either good or bad however you do become gripped in the tale. The subject matter is hard hitting and at times emotional, Kate Winslets performance is certainly deserving of the her recent awards and nominations.

This is a classy film. There are a lot of sex scenes in this film which become a little overbearing at times but they do not distract from the overall enjoyment.

Highly reccommended!

The Reader

A truly wonderful, gritty thought provoking film. A must see.

Riveting !

Many will find this movie enjoyable, but those who are drawn to the dark past of Germany will find aspects of the film riveting.

Kate Winslet part in a tram ticket collector finds a student and has an amorous affair with him, later he finds that her lover was an SS concentration camp guard.

A great screen play plus excellent acting on Miss Kate Winslet, & Ralph Fiennes part.