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"It doesn't matter what I feel. It doesn't matter what I think. The dead are still dead."
When 15-year-old Michael Berg (David Cross) falls ill on the streets of post-war Neustadt, Germany, while on his way home, a kindly woman more than twice his age helps him. Once home with his family, Michael is quarantined for three months with scarlet fever. After his recovery, he returns to find the woman, Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), to thank her. The two quickly become enmeshed in a routine where he reads from classic books to Hanna and then they two have passionate sex. As abruptly as Hanna came into Michael's life, after a few months she disappears without work to him.
Michael is left confused, but nearly 10 years later, when David (now played by Ralph Fiennes) is a law student, his professor takes select students to watch the trial of several Nazi prison guards who were accused of atrocities toward 300 Jewish woman who perished on their way to Auschwitz. Hanna is one of the defendents. She is convicted and goes to prison.
Many years later, Michael, now a successful attorney but emotionally withdrawn, comes across the books he had read to Hanna when he was a teenager. He again reads them aloud into a tape recorder and sends the tapes to Hanna. What follows is Hanna's best effort at restitution and Michael's reconnection with his own daughter (Jeanette Hain).
Kate Winslet won the Oscar for best actress for this role plus numerous other best actress awards from SAG and various film festivals.
Directed by Stephen Daldry.
Run time: 2 hours, 4 minutes.
Rated R for some scenes of sexuality and nudity.
My personal rating: B+
When 15-year-old Michael Berg (David Cross) falls ill on the streets of post-war Neustadt, Germany, while on his way home, a kindly woman more than twice his age helps him. Once home with his family, Michael is quarantined for three months with scarlet fever. After his recovery, he returns to find the woman, Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), to thank her. The two quickly become enmeshed in a routine where he reads from classic books to Hanna and then they two have passionate sex. As abruptly as Hanna came into Michael's life, after a few months she disappears without work to him.
Michael is left confused, but nearly 10 years later, when David (now played by Ralph Fiennes) is a law student, his professor takes select students to watch the trial of several Nazi prison guards who were accused of atrocities toward 300 Jewish woman who perished on their way to Auschwitz. Hanna is one of the defendents. She is convicted and goes to prison.
Many years later, Michael, now a successful attorney but emotionally withdrawn, comes across the books he had read to Hanna when he was a teenager. He again reads them aloud into a tape recorder and sends the tapes to Hanna. What follows is Hanna's best effort at restitution and Michael's reconnection with his own daughter (Jeanette Hain).
Kate Winslet won the Oscar for best actress for this role plus numerous other best actress awards from SAG and various film festivals.
Directed by Stephen Daldry.
Run time: 2 hours, 4 minutes.
Rated R for some scenes of sexuality and nudity.
My personal rating: B+
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