Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.
The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.
Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz, Jeanette Hain, Hannah Herzsprung, Karoline Herfurth
CinemaSerf - 7/10
David Kross is really effective in this tale of a young boy ("Michael") who encounters "Hanna" (Kate Winslet) as he shelters in her doorway from a rainstorm. In fairly short order, this fifteen year old boy becomes her lover; in return she gets him to read to her. He is soon infatuated and devastated when he turns up at her apartment one day to find her gone. Skip on thirty years or so and he - no...
June 6, 2022
badelf - 4/10
I didn't turn this movie off after the beautiful sex scenes only because two others were watching it with me. The mere fact that "Germans" were speaking English totally destroyed the whole "suspend disbelief" for me. This film is an awful rendition by Brits of an award-winning German book. Perhaps, only someone from the Nachgeborenen (to coin Bertolt Brecht's meaning of German post-Holocaust gener...
May 23, 2023
Alunauwie - 9/10
The Reader blends a controversial romance with post-war German guilt, presenting a layered, emotional story carried by powerful performances and thoughtful direction. Despite some logical gaps, the film succeeds in portraying personal and societal struggles through its characters' trauma and secrets. It’s a compelling watch for those drawn to slow-burning dramas with moral complexity. Read the ...
September 30, 2025
Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.
The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.
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The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants i…
2h 4m
December 10, 2008
Stephen Daldry
Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross
Drama, Romance
R
Yes, on fuboTV and Paramount Plus Premium
