More romantically engaging than politically or morally provocative.

Rating: 7/10 (26 June 2009)

I've read several places on the internet that many found 'The Reader' to be slow-paced and relatively boring at times. I didn't find it boring for a single second, it's a very interesting film about the Holocaust aftermath in Germany. Surely the film would have had extra affection if the characters had spoken in the German language, but the performances are all around so good that I quickly forgave them for making Bruno Ganz speaking English. Anyhow, Stephen Daldry does have problems keeping a film spanning from the mid 50ties to the mid 90ties well constructed all the way through, there are a couple of missteps (as what's actually the thing between Michael (David Kross/Ralph Fiennes) and his family?) but in retrospect it's Kate Winslet's fine performance and the odd romantic situation that lingers. Great work from cinematography and production design captures the time-traveling with great visuals.