Very well executed

Lack of good storyline.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

There are already many excellent reviews covering the thought-provoking story of "The Reader". I decided to write a quick review because the story was important and, for the most part, well-written and well-acted. But, in my humble opinion, to make this a truly great movie, and the material deserves more attention, this film needed another pass through an editor's hands to remove the extraneous sex scenes. The subject matter is serious but I found myself wondering if the costume budget had been drastically cut given how many scenes are shown of naked people. I only needed one sex scene to set the stage for the passionate affair between Michael and Hannah. The repetitious sex scenes became gratuitous and boring. Not one of them was original but instead were reminiscent of those that had gone before in "Summer of '42", "The Graduate", and many others. A good 20 minutes in sex scenes alone could've been cut and the movie would've been better for it. As it was they became an unwelcome distraction from the actual point of the film. And that's a shame because once we get beyond them the movie really takes off. Until then, however, my inclination to stop watching was great. I'm glad I didn't, but I did want to warn others. It gets better. A little fast-forwarding may be in order.

There were certain moments while watching this film, where I couldn't stop thinking ''Oh, God really?''. Since the first minutes in, you can notice the rush: three minutes and you have the first sex scene, and twenty minutes after that, you begin with the breaking-up part. The way scenes are sequenced don't let you enjoy them not even a little bit. This broken way to tell the story, ruins everything else, that only can be saved by Winslet's performance. Also, the absurdity of dialogs, (sometimes turning a little cringy to hear the whole conversation), can't just get away. I suppose people actually like The Reader, because it ''moves'' with a 'human topic' that can't be forgotten, but there's a moment after you hear it that much in movies, books and everything else, that you have to look beyond it: you try to find structure, form and technique. This movie doesn't work due to its lack of proper ways to be narrated and its pretentious 'pseudo-philosophical' exagerations about important topics like guilt and moral values, just far away from true human nature and compassion; I talk about the last scene when the writer/jew/surviver says the horrors that happened to the Jewish people were the worst thing that has happened ever, (but logically, that's not true, people still suffer and had suffered before all along human history, and giving that importance to this, avoids total human empathy, not even close to reality).I read somewhere that this movie is actually a good film-adaptation of the book, so I can't imagine how painfully must be to read it.

This is an interesting one. Often regarded as an "Oscar-bait" film due to its subject matter and focus on acting. I never believe this term to be a detriment, in fact it evidently shows here because I thoroughly enjoyed this. A young boy has an affair with an older woman during one summer, she disappears after a promotion which is soon revealed to be a guard at a concentration camp. I shan't say too much in regards to the story, but this is very much what I call a "story film". We have a beginning, middle and end which are suitably implemented into a straightforward accessible narrative. Evoking themes of love, truth and reconciliation, I found this to be an endearing and sentimental story without the need of overacting and melodrama. I find that Kate Winslet often overacts, to a point where I dislike her. However, here she gives undoubtedly her best performance. Why? Because it's nuanced. No massive outbursts, no overly animated scenes. It's just her talking and taking control of every scene. Her subtlety and fragility is what captivated me. The character she portrays is shrouded in mystery and is psychologically intriguing, particularly as it is revealed she is unable to do a certain thing which all of us take for granted (I shan't say). Whereas David Kross and Ralph Fiennes' character, both may I just say were extremely competent, brings the heart and soul of the story. Love is a powerful emotion, one that cannot be fabricated or falsified. Ultimately, I believed in the relationship between these characters despite the events that take place. Loved the musical score as well, suited the film brilliantly. I did find the ending was slightly underwhelming, I would've liked it to be more impactful. Certain scenes did drag on however the pacing overall was fine. There is a lot of nudity, no idea why but the two main characters are always naked. Literally. The Reader might be too safe in its subject, but you cannot deny it's still a captivating watch and adequately moody.

While taking a German course in undergrad, I read Bernhard Schlink's 1995 novel "Der Vorleser" (which more accurately translates to "the narrator"). I naturally thought that it would make an interesting movie. Sure enough, they eventually made one. It took me several years before I got around to seeing it, but now I have.The main gist of "The Reader" centers on the complexity of Hanna Schmitz as a person, but also on responsibility for one's actions. Hanna might have been merely a cog in the machine, but that doesn't excuse her deeds. Indeed, part of the purpose of writing the novel was so that Germany could collectively accept responsibility for its actions.Kate Winslet (who won a well deserved Oscar for the decidedly unglamorous role) portrays Hanna as a tragic figure, someone who might have not fully understood what she was doing but probably should have, and so she did eventually have to face the consequences. In the end, it doesn't matter whether or not Hanna understood what she was doing; she still made the choice to do it.Ralph Fiennes plays Hanna's paramour as an adult, doing what he can for her (while knowing full well what she did). Nonetheless, the movie belongs to Winslet. This is another masterpiece from Stephen Daldry, also the director of "Billy Elliot", "The Hours", and "Trash" (about some boys in Brazil's slums).