| [xrr rating=8/10 label=Directing] |
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| [xrr rating=7/10 label=Editing] |
| [xrr rating=7/10 label=Effects] |
| [xrr rating=7/10 label=Sound] |
| [xrr rating=10/10 label=Acting] |
| [xrr rating=6/10 label=Music/Score] |
| [xrr rating=5/10 label=Coolness] |
| [xrr rating=8/10 label=Brainness] |
| [xrr rating=1/10 label=Funness] |
| [xrr rating=7/10 label=Overall] |
Actually I have no idea how to start a unidirectional discussion on a grievous, colossal, gargantuan topic like this.
Facts are probably a good idea: the movie is based on the German book “Der Vorleser” by Bernhard Schlink, a German law professor and judge. It was published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997, with Oprah Winfrey famously pushing sales with her “Book Club”. It is on the curriculum of most schools in Germany by now, as it should be. And I sincerely mean that.
Growing up in Germany, I was confronted with all shades of shady to dark grey to the hellishly black facets of this heavyweight from a very early age: from downright comical explanations by teachers why half of Berlin was the only area in color on the map of East Germany to horror stories of people being deported by the Gestapo to educational school trips to the concentration camp site in Dachau to deaths and life-long injuries on both sides my family (German and American) to confusions whether it was appropriate to hoist a Germany flag anywhere (until it became fashionable during the Soccer World Cup a lifetime after WWII).
Trying to grasp the magnitude of the Holocaust and its consequences has always been like trying to stop a rabid bear with a sewing needle.
The book spans a colorful array of uncomfortable topics: the German generation gap, illiteracy, age difference in relationships, guilt and of course the Holocaust. “The Reader” deals with the question whether a sense of its origins and magnitude can be adequately conveyed solely through written and oral media. This question is increasingly at the center of Holocaust literature in the late 20th and early 21st century, as the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust die and its living memory begins to fade.
The movie is almost a complete visual translation of the book. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter David Hare stick to the book except for a miniscule amount of poetic license and I think that was a smart decision. The story follows two people who meet under very rare circumstances. One is too young to remember and the other too hard-eyed to look back.
It opens in post-WWII Germany when teenager Michael Berg (played by German actor David Kross) becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a stranger twice his age (to avoid legal consequences, the crew delayed the filming of sexually explicit scenes until after actor David Kross’ 18th birthday). Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life – this time as a defendant in the courtroom.
Although Kate Winslet in my opinion should have been nominated for “Revolutionary Road” instead of or along side of “The Reader”, she won the Oscar for “Best Actress”. And this was a truly tough gig. And she admittedly did it brilliantly. I saw the movie in German so I truly cannot say anything about her German accent, but I expect it is nothing less than spot-on.
And David Kross is astonishing alongside Winslet. It is a little bit of a shame that all the spotlight was on her during the award season because he does a stellar job. The one point I awarded for “Funness” is actually for the nude scenes. I know there was a lot of critical discussion for the, let’s call it “European” approach to the sex scenes but in my opinion they fit nicely with the taste of the entire tour de force.
And Ralph Finnes is always exactly right for and in anything.
Among the many German actors are Karoline Herfurth, Bruno Ganz, Burghart Klaußner, Hannah Herzsprung and Alexandra Maria Lara. Producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella both died before the completion of the movie. As the film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, the Academy made an exception from their rules not to name more than three producers as nominees because of this rare circumstance. In the end the two producers Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris who took over duties were nominated as well as the posthumously honored Minghella and Pollack.
The movie certainly poses a litany of questions, but all of them are worth pondering. It is heavy but in my opinion you just cannot be too educated about (especially recent) history. If you want to jump-start the old hamster on the wheel in the brain, this on is for you.
No frills, just questions in your head.
Popularity: 4%
To Germans the mere iota of a scintilla of a fraction of the suggestion of enjoying American beer is totally laughable. Like butter-flavored salt or the expression “ttym”. Here in Bavaria, the holy trinity of Coors, Miller and Budweiser are considered novelty beverages or lemonade. Germans take exorbitant pride in their beer and anyone who’s ever been to the Oktoberfest, well if they remember then they weren’t really there, were they?
