Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. Kate Winslet (who won the Academy Award for her role) delivers a dynamic performance in this tale of eroticism and secrecy, set in turbulent post-Nazi Germany. Bringing to life the celebrated novel by Bernhard Schlink, Winslet is riveting as Hanna Schmitz – a lonely, working-class woman who experiences a brief but intense affair with a teenage boy. Years later they meet again: Hanna now a defendant in a notorious case and her ex-lover, now a law student, holding the secret to her salvation. Directed by Stephen Daldry, and featuring Ralph Fiennes as the grown man still reeling from Hanna’s influence, THE READER is a moving, romantic and poignant story about the difficult distance between truth and reconciliation.
On Friday night, Dr. Michaela Grobbel, Professor of German in Modern Languages and Literature, will introduce the film and lead a discussion after the screening.
Released: 2008
Run time: 124
