The Reader (2008)

Captivating, haunting and bewildering. Having read the book last year I have been avoiding watching 'The Reader' as I thought it would make me feel angry, frustrated and upset (for many reasons). However this is one of those occasions where my expectations were turned upside down by Stephen Daldry's interpretation of the relationship between Hannah and Michael. Both Kate Winslett and German actor David Kross delivered outstanding performances, particularly revolutionary for Kate Winslett having to portray such a woman as Hannah. There has been an extraordinary amount of film and literature which tries to explain what victims of the Holocaust went through, yet very little about the people who orchestrated the crimes. 'The Reader' is an excellent way of encouraging us to consider the very complex (and possibly incomprehensible) reasons why people followed instructions to systemmatically murder so many human beings because of their race, beliefs, disabilities and sexuality. I was shocked to find myself feeling sorry for Hannah, as I viewed her as a much more harsh and hard woman when reading the book. This goes to show that we MUST keep watching films, even those which we think we are not going to like or enjoy, otherwise we miss out on the opportunity to develop our ideas and opinions. This is an important film which any student of the Holocaust should see. (And I have managed to reach the end of my review without mentioning the rude bits!) This is now in my list of top ten films - watch it!