The Reader [DVD]

The performance by all actors is superb. Bruno Ganz( The law professor) is outstanding and Kate Winslett gives the performance of her life whilst Ralph Fiennes/David Cross interpret the dilemmas of Michael Berg ( the young lover who becomes a lawyer) in acrediblw way. There are many facets to this movie: coming of age, love between people of different age, the holocaust, the reason why people did what they did, the power of education, human relations, guilt, injustice, post war Germany, and so on. It makes you reflect in general about human behaviour and how we all react to different circumstances in different ways. The question that Hanna, the defendant, asks the judge is " what would you have done in similar circumstances?" . it is too easy to answer : "I would have behaved differently". The visual descriptions of towns and apartments in post war towns is extremely interesting. Some viewers may consider the story of a justification of the Nazi atrocities, creating sympathy for Hanna, a Kapo in a concentration camp . In my opinion, it is not a justification, but rather a view of one of the many reasons why people did what they did, following the rules It made me think and it raises the question about whether the Germans did deal with their Nazi pat in the right way. The best film I have seen for a very long time.

Superb film,great actors acting out superb characters. A must watch film

One of my lovefilm viewings. The film starts with the older Michael looking out of the window and remembering the street as a 15 year old. The scene then switches to that era where Michael is ill in the doorway to some flats and is helped by a woman. He then spends the next 3 months in bed with scarlet fever. When he is sufficiently recovered he returns to thank the woman that helped him and they have an affair that lasts for the summer. She likes him to read to her and he reads various books including his school homework. On one occasion they have a weekend cycling holiday and when reading a menu she just says she will have the same as Michael. She works as a conductress on the trams and because she is good at her job she is promoted to the office. By this point in the film it is fairly obvious that Hanna cannot read and write. She leaves her flat without speaking to Michael. Micheal studies law after school and one of the classes he takes means he attends court. He sees Hanna on trial with other former concentration camp guards. She ends up taking the worst sentence because she is ashamed and won't admit to not being able to read. Michael is torn as to whether to intervene but doesn't. At one point Hanna answers one of the questions as to why certain events happened with her own question 'what would you have done' - making you think about what your own attitude might be. Whilst Hanna is in prison Michael records his voice reading the books he had read to her before and then other books. Hanna uses this to learn to read whilst in prison. Michael finally meets her a week before she is due to be released but Hanna is not ready to face the outside world. Michael is clearly affected his whole life by his feelings for Hanna. The ending is sad but then he shares what happened with his daughter. Thought provoking on various levels about love and the actions of the concentration camp guards and about people as people. Definitely worth watching

An incredible (coming of age) love story intermingled with the darkest of war tales. Brilliant acting by the whole cast and superbly directed and filmed. Very moving and poignant. Don't pre read about this film discover the key yourself, its important to discover it yourself. Sombre and Reflectful. Womans inhumanity to woman in more than one sense. Memorable. A Very Good Film.

This is a review of the two-disc edition. It does not include any plot spoilers.I work as an usher at the local arts centre cinema. `The Reader' was my film of the year for 2009. I was moved by its portrayals, by the story. It is also a brave film and many critics misunderstood its message. It is a film in three acts, all set in Germany and all featuring the relationship between Hanna and Michael: Neustadt in 1959, Heidelberg in 1966, and Berlin in 1995. But the story itself is played out over all five decades.The first act is a touching love story: Michael tells us, "I was fifteen. I was coming home from school. I was feeling ill and a woman helped me." There is then a sudden turn into the second, where we enter a court room and come face-to-face with what Hannah Arendt famously described as `the banality of evil', the warped logic of mass murder. What is so moving is the act of pride to hide shame, but it is shame for the wrong reason. (In a sense the shame would still be there whatever crime had been committed, but what blurs the principle in this case is that the crime is heinous.) The third act attempts to be redemptive in all sorts of ways and all sorts of levels.This is a film full of questions, replete with points for discussion. I cannot remember a film that is so questioning of the relationship between principles and their application in law and in morality. It is a gift to teachers and students of philosophy, history, or jurisprudence as there is plenty here for discussion in the classroom and in the pub. For example, after watching this film, do you feel sympathy for Hanna? And, if so, does that make you uncomfortable?What of the extras on disc two? There are, firstly, twelve deleted or extended scenes, taking up almost an hour in length. There are short pieces with composer Nico Muhly, production designer Brigitte Broch, and with Kate Winslet herself in make-up. There is a ten-minute conversation between director Stephen Daldry and new-star-on-the-block David Kross. But the longest extra is the twenty-three minute `making of', which features Daldry, screenwriter David Hare, original author Bernhard Schlink, and various contributions from the principal actors.