The Reader
Date watched: 6 February 2009
I’ve been wanting to watch this movie, because it intrigued me in ways more than one, for the fact that it portrayed Nazi officers as human too, the fact that it contained the story of a much older woman who had an affair with a very young boy, the fact that it co-starred the handsome Ralph Fiennes.

Yet, it wasn’t Ralph Fiennes who intrigued me in this movie, but Kate Winslet. I know, she’s the star of the movie afterall. But I’ve never found her attractive, nor a great actress, with her previous movies all rather forgettable, for me.
Anyway, in this movie, she portrayed perfectly a German woman who was definitely not attractive. A woman who had many secrets to keep. A woman who was vulnerable and scared and yet passive.
The movie sparked off a whole string of SMS exchanges between Hendri and I later. Some here:
Me: Why do you think Michael withheld the information from the court?
Hendri: Cos then he’ll have to admit that he had an affair with a Nazi supporter, and it may jeopardize his law career, I think.
Me: I don’t think it was purely selfish reasons. I think he also wanted her to come to peace with herself and her own actions. At the end, he asked her what she’d learnt. He wanted her to accept and forgive herself. But she didn’t.
Hendri: Hmm, yes, that too. The ending was pretty sad.
Me: It’s a sad ending but she didn’t want to burden him. That’s what I feel.
Hendri: I think she didn’t wanna say that she was illiterate also, cos if she did, she would have to admit to consenting to things she didn’t fully understand. She might also have lied that she could read, to get the job as SS. Haha, just read the wiki article, it said she asked to transfer to SS cos she knew she wouldn’t be able to do the office job after her promotion.
Me: Oh yeah, no wonder she was so shocked when she got the promotion!
Me: The lady… The child who survived (the Nazi concentration camp). She accepted the tin. It was a gesture of forgiveness? I felt that that was so so so touching…
The movie intrigued me enough to make me go read the Wiki articles on the movie, and the book (apparently vastly different), the next day.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars!






