Starring Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, and David Kross.
Directed by Stephen Daldry.
Based on the best-selling novel by Bernhard Schlink.
Runtime 2 hrs. 2 min.
THE READER opens in post-WWII Germany, where teenager Michael Berg becomes ill with scarlet fever and is helped home by Hanna, a stranger twice his age. After his recovery, he seeks her out to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate, secretive affair.
Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Hanna is enthralled as Michael reads to her from “The Odyssey”, “Huck Finn”, and “The Lady with the Little Dog.” Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken.
Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life – this time as a defendant in the courtroom. As dark secrets from Hanna’s past are revealed, Michael must reexamine his own understanding of compassion and morality. THE READER is a haunting story about truth and reconciliation, and how one generation comes to terms with the crimes of another.