The Reader

The acting is superb. I give everything else a 4 star rating. On film editing I give it 3. I did not like the shift in the middle from Michael as a young man going under water and when he resurfaces he is a man sitting at a desk. I wish the visual had transcended better. I also felt a radical jump when going from end where she has left the apt. to court room. Very disjointed and confusing. And I did not like how it ended with woman looking at tin at her dresser. It left me flat. Definitely a film worth seeing. But the book might be better ? I did not read the book. Gernally, I am skeptical about Holocaust films. When in doubt Hollywood makes a film about how evil the Nazi's were- it is sure to do well at box office. I am also leary of "awe" struck films. With "Sophie's choice" at top of list. Although again the performances were outstanding. I have more problems with the book. I like my heavy films to leave me more with questions not feeling sentimental about the characters. Details I found hard to believe- that as simple a person as Hannah seemed to be- I don't see her not being able to admit she could not read. On the subject of sexuality- I am fine with the film and think curious teenages should be aloowed to see it. I don't like any of the sexuality I see in Netflix. It seems gradtuidus . But this film has a gentle touch to the sexuality. I doubt many parents pay attention if their kids see Netflix and their sexually is closer to porn. I have read skeptical critics of Shindler's List. Again there is much about the film that are 5 star and well done. I did not like the film turning to color at the end. A very Hollywood ending that is safe. We don't want to let the non Jewish audience feel to guilty. It does not sell tickets. At the end of The Reader I did like the Jewish woman who even in her elegant life style also faced reality headone. the camps teach nothing . For me that should have been the end. The tin left on the table. We still have slaughter houses for animals. think about what that does to the people who work there. the film ended with the Jewish woman putting the tin w/ her other memories on her dresser. And maybe that is how the book ended At least this film starts people thinking. I could give you a list of books to read but I do not have time right now. The searching is in the questions not the answers or summing up.

I found it good although there is a lot of sex but it was good

Not for teens, leaves a lasting impression. It is not an easy film to watch, similar to "Atonement" or "All the Light You Cannot See", there is no happy hollywood ending. You can feel it, as it pushes inexorably towards the end, that there will be no happy resolution. However it is so well acted, it is hard to stop watching. I am still thinking about it days later! I will definitely not watch it ever again though, I don't need the emotional downer. A note about the xxx sex - it is very graphic not necessarily in the amount shown (which includes full frontal nudity for both), but I think more so that it is SO realistic. It is not hollywood-ized sex at all, it is the kind of sex real people have (not talking about the statutory rape) not glamourous or perfect. I think that is what bothers everyone. Kate was in her mid 30's and David Kross who played her 15 year old lover, had only just turned 18 when he filmed this. We all know she is dedicated to her craft, but that made me go eeewwww.... I think 80-90% of people under the age of 20 won't even fully understand this film, not having had enough life experiences. I had a hard time getting over the fact that this is a 30 something woman, with a 15 year old boy. Once I was able to shut out the abhorrence of that, I was able to watch the rest of the film unravel. It takes you on quite a sad journey...

I chose to watch this movie for my First Year Seminar Holocaust class, mainly because of Kate Winslet's Oscar-winning turn in it. Suffice it to say I was a little surprised by the abundance of nudity in this picture, the likes of which definitely make it not for kids, even if there's no profanity or violence to go along with it. But Winslet is great as Hanna Schmitz, who becomes smitten with teenage German Michael Berg in post war Germany. Their affair is short but leaves a lifelong impact on both, especially Michael. While strictly on legal terms the relationship is pedophilloic, it is completely consensual, though the story would be way more disturbing if the gender roles were reversed, and that's the double standard to these things. Sometimes I found Michael a little hard to sympathize with; yes he's with this caring older woman but he has so many girls his age, and he's constantly leaving them to be with Hanna. That's only half the movie though, the other half sees Michael coming to grips with something Hanna does that gets her accused of heinous crimes, and something inside him still cares for her immensely. The acting and strong material the film's based on make it legitimate, though I certainly wouldn't put this in the Best Picture field over strong movies like "The Dark Knight" and "Gran Torino" in the Oscar year of 2008. It's not so much a history lesson as it is more a study of love, both physical and emotional, and how it leaves its marks on you forever.

I think that this movie shows that if one engages at intense sexual activity, especially with an older adult, at a very young age, the results can be damaging for the rest of that young person's life. The movie shows how the main character never really got over his romance with the woman he went to see and read to. He was not even able to keep his relationship with his wife. In the end, he was alone and bitter.

This was a very good movie for an adults. The theme in general is about the suffering and after affects affects of a child who is basically molested by an ex Nazi solder.

The graphic, leave-little-to-the-imagination sex scenes went way beyond the realm of standard R-rated material. It was very uncomfortable to watch. And when you consider that we are basically watching statutory rape on screen, that makes it that much more reprehensible. When the two characters are experimenting with a new sexual position, the viewers are allowed to see the position unfold and hear Ms. Winset's pleasure. This is borderline soft pornographic. And the irony is that I'm not an old prude! I'm a 30-thing male who enjoys a good sex scene as much as the next guy. But it shouldn't permeate through half the show. And it shouldn't be so explicitly graphic and it should not glamorize statutory rape in any way. If it were a male nazi prison guard with a 15 year old girl, would the reaction be the same? I doubt it.

I had read the CS Media review & knew what to expect. The friend I went with was shocked by the graphic sex scenes. They were a little more than I expected, too. I wonder how this movie slid by with an R-rating, rather than an NC-17. Kate Winslet bares all (often), as does the young male star (just not as often). Their affair leaves little to the imagination. The story jumps back and forth between time periods, so make sure to watch for the indications of time changes. Maybe knowing the basic story premise helped, my friend got confused some of the time changes: artistically cool, but not necessarily viewer friendly. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO.