The Reader

Rating: 9.0/10
Genre: Drama
Overall value for money and time: 9.0/10

A provocative movie about a young boy’s love affair with an older woman and how a simple secret kept them apart. The tagline reads “How far would you go to protect a secret?” Do not underestimate this simple yet thought provoking statement. This is one extremist movie that shared with me a priceless lesson. What I didn’t like about this movie was the ending. It left many questions in my head, even after 24hours after watching it. Initially, I thought to myself that I would not give this movie a rating higher than “7.7” due to the ending. But on second, third, and subsequent thoughts, it gets better each time I reflected on the storyline. This movie feels like good wine, it takes an acquired taste to fully appreciate it and as time progresses, it gets better and better. Who knows, it’s only a day from viewing the movie that my rating got up by a 1.3 rating, the days to come might see this movie having an almost full rating.

The first part of the movie felt close to “soft porn”, where there was lots of sex and nudity on both sides of the protagonists. It was necessary however, because only by adding those scenes, is one able to truly feel for the protagonists later in the movie. The pace took a turn when there was a plot twist in the middle of the movie – the introduction of the “secret”. That was when morality was challenged, all the way to the ending credits. It does have me wonder to myself why Kate Winslet won the Best actress award during the Golden Globe Awards 2009. Was it another case of Wei Tang (lust and caution), where baring it all was a big contribution seen as a “huge sacrifice therefore earning respect” kinda action, or was Kate Winslet’s performance genuinely outstanding. Great movies like “Titanic”, “Little Children”, “The Holiday” and now “The Reader” all had Kate Winslet starring in them… which brings me to one conclusion. Once’s a coincidence, twice, maybe luck, three times onwards… that’s just professionalism. Kate Winslet wasn’t lucky to be in those great movies, those movies were great because Kate Winslet was in it. I think this movie is far more superior to “Slumdog Millionaire”. But in movie history and understanding, there’s no way movies with such provocative contents will ever be seen winning an Oscar. That’s what makes this movie better than the rest. It’s like an unsung hero, residing in the hearts of its viewers and bringing with them a lesson they can learn through life. Now is the time for me to bring in the spoilers. If you’re not convinced by now that this movie is worth more than your money and time, then you should just carry on reading so you won’t have to “waste” your time watching it. The spoilers are included for debate, as well as justifying my high ratings for the movie.

The start of the movie showed an adolescent boy who was physically attracted to an older woman (Hanna Schmitz – Kate Winslet), probably because he grew up in an environment where he was in control most of the time. But when he was with her, he felt a change in roles, he felt submissive and cared for like a little child. Being a young boy (Michael Berg), he was curious about sex and didn’t understand the attraction he had for Hanna. They had an intimate relationship and Hanna enjoyed listening to Michael read to her. Throughout their secretive relationship, Michael had encounters with younger girls who he felt attracted to, but ultimately went back to Hanna’s house to spend time with her. That showed the internal struggle he had within himself, but ultimately his affection for Hanna overcame his lust. Hanna, being a bus conductor, was promoted to an office job one day but left without a sound. Eight years later, Michael attended a court hearing with his classmates and professor about Nazi war crimes. Among the female defendants were none other than Hanna. A book was written by two of the survivors, mother and daughter, of a church massacre that the female prison guards were the ones who cold bloodedly killed the trapped Jews. There was mention on the Judge’s side that no one escaped the fire. There was a lot of emphasis throughout the movie that “No one” escaped the fire, which leaves a hanging feeling about whether the story of the prison guards were true. Hanna was one of the prison guards who had to take the blame of masterminding the entire massacre. This was so when the other prison guards accused her of issuing the confirmation letter. When asked to perform a handwriting analysis, Hanna rejected and admitted that she was the mastermind. However, through the affair 8 years ago, it suddenly dawned to Michael that Hanna was illiterate. He was put in a dilemma, knowing that announcing this fact will save Hanna from life imprisonment but had to keep it a secret since Hanna herself would rather admit a crime she didn’t commit than to let known that she was illiterate. In the end, the secret was not known and Hanna was sentenced to life imprisonment. Despaired, Michael made love to a law classmate of his whom would become his future wife. There are two points of view on this matter.

Most would think of Hanna as a cold bloody prison guard who went strictly by the books, but for me, I still think she did it because there were no other choices for her. It was tough for her to find a job that didn’t compromise her secret. Hanna wasn’t exactly a normal person. She had a fetish for being read to (probably because she was illiterate) and that was probably what made Michael hesitant about disclosing her secret to save her – because he was angry at her for being used. Years later, Michael couldn’t keep Hanna off his mind so he recorded every book he could find in his study room and send them to Hanna. He was probably trying to repent for his mistake and because he realized years later that he truly loved Hanna. However, it was unexpected when letters from her were mailed back to him. He was at a lost and didn’t reply. 20 years later when she could finally be released, he was referred to as the only person to discharge her from prison. When they finally met, Michael asked her, “What did you learn?” Hanna replied, “I learnt to read.” Disgusted by her unrepentant behavior, he acted coldly towards her. His cold behavior could be attributed to him being ashamed of her behavior as well as the affair which took place years ago. However, what I felt that it was perfectly normal for her to feel this way. She went all out to keep this secret, when she was offered a promotion to work in an office, she was so afraid that others would find out that she ran away and took on another job as a prison guard. She had lived her entire life keeping that secret and there were many times she could have tried to learn to read and write, but she didn’t. That was until Michael send tapes to her. The act of learning to read and write, and from the content of the letters about asking Michael to write back was proof enough that he meant a lot to her. So when she said, “I learnt to read.” It meant more than just the words, or the knowledge. It meant love for him, it meant she had finally “escaped” from the prison inside of her. When she committed suicide and left a tin of her entire savings with Michael to have him bring them to the daughter of the survivors, that was the most ironic scene in the movie. The daughter was very well-off, living in a big house, having a good life and when Michael told her about Hanna’s secret, the daughter was unremorseful about putting an innocent lady behind bars. She lived most of her life of riches, whereas Hanna lived a miserable life keeping a secret she was ashamed of and having been innocently put behind bars for doing her job. That’s when morality came into view.

What distinguishes right from wrong? What truly differentiates a good person from a bad person? The way I look at it, the daughter was the truly bad person. She took the money out of the tin and returned it to Michael. When Michael told his plans of setting up a illiteracy foundation with the cash, she couldn’t care less about it. Michael showed many signs of weaknesses in the movie, seeking forgiveness on the behalf of Hanna before the daughter who never forgave Hanna, and finally told his love affair to her daughter, probably because he felt that it was time to share his secret with someone else. Up to the very end, Michael didn't understand Hanna's love for him, still blaming her for the actions which explained his act of asking for forgiveness. He was still a "little" boy who only saw love superficially. The daughter, judges and everyone else showed how narrow minded their definition of justice was. The daughter was so blinded by hatred and the "act of evil" itself that she failed to see the true reasons behind the actions. Hanna showed how strong true love really was. The "fetish" that she had might also be because she missed Michael... In a way, being read too by young female prisoners before sending them to their death was because they would remind her of Michael. All the different characters displayed different points of view and each displayed their own weaknesses. I think that is what sets this movie apart from most blockbuster movies, the true nature of humanity.