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IMDbPro

The Reader

  • 20082008
  • RR
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
249K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
988
Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, and David Kross in The Reader (2008)
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, a law student re-encounters his former lover (Winslet) as she testifies in a war-crimes trial.
Play trailer2:31
7 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaRomance
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crim... Read allPost-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
249K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
988
    • Stephen Daldry
    • David Hare(screenplay)
    • Bernhard Schlink(book "Der Vorleser")
  • Stars
    • Kate Winslet
    • Ralph Fiennes
    • Bruno Ganz
    • Stephen Daldry
    • David Hare(screenplay)
    • Bernhard Schlink(book "Der Vorleser")
  • Stars
    • Kate Winslet
    • Ralph Fiennes
    • Bruno Ganz
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 496User reviews
    • 293Critic reviews
    • 58Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos7

    The Reader: Trailer
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch The Reader: Trailer
    The Reader
    Clip 1:15
    Watch The Reader
    The Reader
    Clip 1:02
    Watch The Reader
    The Reader
    Clip 0:57
    Watch The Reader
    The Reader
    Clip 0:54
    Watch The Reader
    The Reader
    Clip 1:38
    Watch The Reader
    The Reader
    Interview 31:10
    Watch The Reader

    Photos134

    Kate Winslet in The Reader (2008)
    Ralph Fiennes in The Reader (2008)
    Kate Winslet and David Kross in The Reader (2008)
    Kate Winslet and David Kross in The Reader (2008)
    Kate Winslet and David Kross in The Reader (2008)
    Kate Winslet and David Kross in The Reader (2008)
    Amy Irving at an event for The Reader (2008)
    Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, and David Kross at an event for The Reader (2008)
    David Kross at an event for The Reader (2008)
    Elie Wiesel at an event for The Reader (2008)
    Georgina Chapman at an event for The Reader (2008)
    Haaz Sleiman at an event for The Reader (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kate Winslet
    Kate Winslet
    • Hanna Schmitz
    Ralph Fiennes
    Ralph Fiennes
    • Michael Berg
    Bruno Ganz
    Bruno Ganz
    • Professor Rohl
    Jeanette Hain
    Jeanette Hain
    • Brigitte
    David Kross
    David Kross
    • Young Michael Berg
    Susanne Lothar
    Susanne Lothar
    • Carla Berg
    Alissa Wilms
    Alissa Wilms
    • Emily Berg
    Florian Bartholomäi
    Florian Bartholomäi
    • Thomas Berg
    Friederike Becht
    Friederike Becht
    • Angela Berg
    Matthias Habich
    Matthias Habich
    • Peter Berg
    Frieder Venus
    • Doctor
    Marie-Anne Fliegel
    • Hanna's Neighbour
    • (as Marie Anne Fliegel)
    Hendrik Arnst
    • Woodyard Worker
    Rainer Sellien
    Rainer Sellien
    • Teacher
    Torsten Michaelis
    • Sports Master
    Moritz Grove
    • Holger
    Joachim Tomaschewsky
    • Stamp Dealer
    Barbara Philipp
    • Waitress
      • Stephen Daldry
      • David Hare(screenplay)
      • Bernhard Schlink(book "Der Vorleser")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To avoid legal consequences, the crew delayed the filming of sexually-explicit scenes until after actor David Kross' 18th birthday on July 4, 2008.
    • Goofs
      When Michael visits New York in 1988, the cab he is in is followed by modern-day cars including a 2000s GMC SUV behind all the period vehicles.
    • Quotes

      Michael: I'm not frightened. I'm not frightened of anything. The more I suffer, the more I love. Danger will only increase my love. It will sharpen it, it will give it spice. I will be the only angel you need. You will leave life even more beautiful than you entered it. Heaven will take you back and look at you and say: Only one thing can make a soul complete, and that thing is love.

    • Crazy credits
      There are no opening credits, other than the studio logo.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Musik liegt in der Luft
      Written by Heinz Gietz, Kurt Feltz

      Performed by Caterina Valente

      Courtesy of M.A.T. Musice Theme Licensing Ltd.

    User reviews496

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    The Reader is a brilliant, sexually charged, and oddly heartbreaking tale about the complexity of human morality and the lifelong repercussions that result from our actions.
    There's an urgency in human nature to understand. When it comes to the Holocaust, history's bleak, unsettling period, it doesn't matter what book you've read, film you've seen or account you've heard; in the end, your response it halted by its incomprehensible conclusion. How could humanity course its way towards such a violent, destructive path? How could people knowingly send men, women, and children to their impending doom? Most puzzling, how could the world allow it? Even though its been 63 years since the blood-drenched annals of World War II, its aftermath today is still bone chilling.

    After a six year celluloid dry spell, Stephen Daldry returns to the director's chair in a brilliant, sexually charged, and oddly heartbreaking tale about the complexity of human morality and the lifelong repercussions that result from our actions. Adapted from Bernhard Schlink's best-selling German novel, "The Reader," Daldry's visual translation is a powerful, emotionally absorbing film that is one of the year's best. It's superbly crafted.

    With World War II over, Germany, in 1958, is still recovering. Deep within Heidelberg, Germany, Michael (David Kross), a young pubescent teenager haven fallen ill, is comforted by Hanna (Kate Winslet), a hard working woman who is twice his age. Taken by her generosity, Michael revisits Hanna to offer his gratitude. What begins as an awkward reunion escalates into a seductive, forbidden affair that intensifies when Michael begins reading to the distant, empty Hanna, who is deeply awakened by Michael's spoken literature. Too young to understand love's complicated implications, Michael is emotionally devastated when Hanna suddenly disappears. Nearly a decade later, unable to forget his passionate summer while studying law, he attends a Nazi trail, and to his dismay, hears Hanna's distant voice.

    "The Reader" is a complex film; maybe a little too complex for some. Though the film pertains to Nazism and the "sins of our fathers," in essence, "The Reader" is a film that reflects the emotions inside all of us. During a lecture, Michael's professor comments, "Societies like to think they operate on morality but they don't." In this cynical age, how far from reality is that statement? During Hanna's trial, she's questioned why she participated in the Nazi party's horrendous war crimes, broken she replies, "It was my job." Oddly enough, that seems to be the justification most people use. Surprisingly, though, "The Reader" isn't about her exposure as a war criminal, but an exposure on an individual who took the wrong path. She's not a bad person; she's simply made wrong choices. However, when it comes to having involvement in the Nazi's liquidation of the Jews, how "wrong" can you get? "You ask us to think like lawyers," cries on student, "what are we trying to do?" A distraught Michael replies, "We are trying to understand!" But, just who exactly is trying to grasp a deeper understanding: the court or Michael? How can Hanna's past be forgiven? Director Stephen Daldry brings the much needed emotional layer that a character such as Hanna Schmitz desperately needs. Although her actions are beyond unforgivable, strangely, we sympathize with her. Maybe it's her other shameful secret. Maybe it's superb character development.

    "The Reader" is a film that is driven by it's raw performances. In one of her finest hours, Kate Winslet gives the performance of a lifetime. It's a haunting and heart-breaking. David Kross, who's only 18, is impressive as the teenager with raging hormones; it's such a daring performance. Winselt and Kross bring this picture together. Their performances are jaw-droppingly brilliant. Completing the role of Michael, as the tortured grown man, is Ralph Fiennes, who balances Michael's despair through his melancholic emotion when he encounters a grown Jewish woman, played by Lena Olin, who was also at Hanna's trail. Although her scenes clock in less than 10 minutes, Olin, too, is breathtaking.

    When "The Reader's" credits rolled, I sat quietly shaken by what I had witnessed. It's a film that is impossible to forget. When a grown Michael asks Hanna, "Have you spent much time thinking about the past?" Heartbroken, she replies, "It doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what I feel. The dead are still dead." She's right.
    helpful•484
    75
    • The_Film_Addict
    • Jan 8, 2009

    FAQ4

    • Is "The Reader" based on a book?
    • Is this movie in English or German with subtitles?
    • Where in Germany is the movie set?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 30, 2009 (United States)
      • Germany
      • United States
      • Official site (Germany)
      • English
      • German
      • Greek
      • Latin
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Kirnitzschtal, Sächsische Schweiz, Saxony, Germany
    • Production companies
      • The Weinstein Company
      • Mirage Enterprises
      • Studio Babelsberg
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 4 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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