The Reader

If this film was supposed to be primarily a drama about responsibility, guilt, and punishment, it failed to evoke the relevant emotions and catharsis in me. The film combines two problems: the relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a woman from an older generation, and the conflict arising from the young woman's involvement in war crimes. I am not familiar with the book, so I cannot assess to what extent the film's shortcomings stem from the literary material or the screenplay. However, some motifs and layers of the characters' relationship remained hidden or failed to captivate me. The stronger problem in general seemed to be the relationship between two unequal sexual partners. The genesis of this relationship is not particularly shocking, although it is certainly one of the few taboos that still exist today. Post-war Germany had to deal with the problem that millions of men had fallen on the front lines, so women found various ways to help themselves. The aspect of crime and punishment does not work for two reasons: firstly because the protagonist's involvement in the crimes is unquestionable, and secondly, because this line is overshadowed by the bizarreness of the whole plot and the main character. The characters seemed too flat to me, and the film felt dragged out. Overall impression: 55%. (10/24/2010)

A nice drama with a leisurely start and a very intense second half and ending. Kate Winslet has outdone herself with a performance that is clearly Oscar worthy. I also appreciate that the film doesn’t pass any categorical judgement, leaving the viewers free to impart their own absolution. The topics The Reader deals with are so strong and deep that, thanks to the above mentioned liberty, they will stay in your head for a lot longer than five minutes after the screening. I also want to praise the music, it’s not obtrusive but still striking enough for me to notice it (which is far from the rule for me). (01/26/2009)

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. After an unnecessarily long and drawn out opening about ignited passion (I understand that in terms of content it certainly has its point, but I found it boring at times), the reunion occurs again after eight years – at this point the plot begins to pick up and offers a truly excellent drama about hurt feelings and the difficulty of letting go of the past. Daldry's matter-of-fact, aware and precise direction is perfect for the subject matter of The Reader, all the actors perform more than adequately to the accompaniment of the beautiful chamber music, and the ending is well scripted, but it's not up to full marks with me. 90% (01/16/2010)

An incredibly strong and emotional film that doesn't just use the Second World War to be emotional, but brings forth a beautiful and sad story that stands on its own. Yes, the war is of course important here, but the story would hold up even in slightly different circumstances. A stellar performance by the main cast and director Daldry. (09/15/2014)

It is, of course, excellent that attention has been drawn to the subject of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials from 1963 to 1965. Kate Winslet is an interesting choice for the lead role, and although we know she can act, she is after all too familiar to us for such complex characters. It would be interesting to see a good German actress in this role. Bernhard Schlink wrote a book that aroused many emotions, questions, and discussions. The many themes that run through it like a red thread seemingly fit together only with difficulty. But the opposite is true. Very controversial are the parts depicting interviews with law students of the 1960s and the final meeting with a former victim. Personally, I find the whole tone of the novel's fiction extremely problematic, but that's not Schlink's fault, it's the problem of the general phenomenon of denazification. The course of history cannot be changed by punishing the weakest link. Note that it is impossible to deal with the Holocaust in this way. (01/12/2020)