The Reader

Rating: 8/10 (30 January 2011)

"The reader" is one of the most beautiful movie I've ever seen. Michael is a 15 years old student who meet a mysterious woman,Hanna, older than him.They begin a secret affair. Hanna likes to be read aloud while Michael discovers his sexuality as Hanna teaches him how to approach. But Hanna mysteriously disappears. He encounters his lover many years later on trial for Nazi crime charges. The difference of age between Hanna (can she be considered pedophile?) and Michael is an original metaphor to describe the different generations-the former that witnessed the Nazis committing terrible persecution towards the Jews and did nothing to prevent it and ,in many cases, supported actively their actions;the latter that had to relate with this crucial,yet difficult to accept,period. Plus,it is not a traumatizing turn to discover that a person you loved is not only a former Nazi guard but she played an active role by killing innocent people like did Hanna?Hanna is manipulative but with Michael she becomes more human-a humanity she never had. The secret Hanna holds is not only her active part in a crime but the shame of being illiterate which she considers the worst.So an education can make a person wiser and change the course of his life?But although she is perfectly aware to take part of a brutal massacre she could not be seen as a supporter of the Nazi propaganda because she has not political ideology being herself an illiterate woman. The movie stimulates all those questions and manages to depict all of them with a good sense of balance,in the typical delicate but yet competent way of Stephen Daldry. He avoids exaggerations leaving the single person to develop his own point of view.The direction was really marvelous , a proof of Daldry's abilities. The actors play extremely well.Kate Winslet is mesmerizing as always and shows abilities never seen before and her Oscar award for Best Actress is completely deserved.She gave a devastating performance as a former Nazi guard and her face communicates the illogical and cold mind of the illiterate woman.David Kross is truly fantastic, a revelation.He should have been nominated as well. Ralph Fiennes is good (but for the given screen time not so impressive like Winslet and Kross).The supporting cast(Lena Olin and Bruno Ganz)is excellent. The pace of the movie is quite slow.Simply one of the best of the year.My vote is 8/10 .