| The Reader | |
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&sq=&lang=&file=File:Reader_ver2.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Daldry |
| Screenplay by | David Hare |
| Based on | Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink |
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| Cinematography | |
| Edited by | Claire Simpson |
| Music by | Nico Muhly |
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Running time | 124 minutes[1] |
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| Budget | $32 million[3] |
| Box office | $108.9 million[3] |
The Reader is a 2008 romantic drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, written by David Hare on the basis of the 1995 novel by Bernhard Schlink, and starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Bruno Ganz and Karoline Herfurth.
The film tells the story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a 15-year-old in 1958, has a sexual relationship with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz. She disappears only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp. Michael realizes that Hanna is keeping a personal secret she believes is worse than her Nazi past – a secret which, if revealed, could help her at the trial. Some historians criticised the film for making Schmitz an object of the audience's sympathy and accused the filmmakers of Holocaust revisionism.[4]
The Reader was the last film for producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, both of whom died prior to its release. Production began in Germany in September 2007, and the film opened in limited release on December 10, 2008. It received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Winslet and Kross's performances, but criticism for its direction and screenplay.
For her performance, Winslet won the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.
- ^ "The Reader (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 2, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (December 9, 2008). "Innocence Is Lost in Postwar Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
mojowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Shipman, Tim (February 15, 2009). "Kate Winslet's Oscar chances hit by The Reader Nazi accusation". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2017.