The Reader (2008)
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A man's past with a woman who is later revealed to be a war crimes defendant leads to a profound exploration of secrets and the weight of history.
The story
In 1958, a young man named Michael Berg becomes ill and is cared for by an older woman, Hanna Schmitz. The two begin a secret summer love affair, during which Hanna often asks Michael to read to her. Years later, Michael is a law student who discovers that Hanna is among the defendants in a war crimes trial for her actions as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp. Michael realizes that Hanna is hiding a personal secret she believes is even more damaging than her involvement in the war, and he must grapple with the implications of their shared past and her current predicament.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1958, 15-year-old Michael Berg meets 36-year-old tram conductor Hanna Schmitz. They engage in a secret summer romance where Hanna, who is illiterate, asks Michael to read to her. After she abruptly leaves, Michael's life continues until 1966, when he is a law student and witnesses her trial for war crimes. He learns she was a guard at a concentration camp. During the trial, she admits to being a participant in the Holocaust but hides her illiteracy. Michael is torn between his feelings and his duty to the court. He eventually marries and has a daughter, but remains haunted by his connection to Hanna. Throughout the 1980s, he records books for her in prison. In 1988, he visits her before her release, only to find she has committed suicide. He meets a survivor, Ilana Mather, and gives her a tin of money for a literacy organization. The film ends in 1995 as Michael tells his daughter about their history.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 124
- Production countries
- Germany; United States
- Original languages
- English; German
- Directors
- Stephen Daldry
- Writers
- David Hare · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Kate Winslet · Hanna Schmitz; Ralph Fiennes · Michael Berg; David Kross · Michael Berg; Lena Olin; Bruno Ganz; Karoline Herfurth
- Genres
- romantic drama; coming-of-age drama; courtroom drama
- Themes
- illiteracy; war crimes; generational guilt; secret-keeping
- Tone and mood
- somber; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- historical drama; romance; legal drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink
- Content notes
- sex scenes
- Reception
- The film received average to favorable reviews, with high praise for the lead performances, though some critics criticized the screenplay and direction.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 63% · scale: percentage · review count: 202; Metacritic · score: 58 · scale: 100 · review count: 38
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Actress · win; BAFTA Award · Best Actress · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the last project for producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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