THE READER (2008)

Genre: Drama

Director: Stephen Daldry

Casts: Kate Winslet (Hanna Schmitz)

          Ralph Fiennes (Michael Berg)

         David Kross  (young Michael Berg)

I have always wanted to watch “The Reader”, the film that made Kate Winslet an Oscar Best Actress. To my surprise, one of my favorite actors, Ralph Fiennes, is in a supporting role. Then I thought, this must be good.

So, the following are what I deemed the most important and apparent elements in the film.

FEAR. Fear captured most, if not, the rest of the lifetime of the protagonists Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) and Michael Berg (David Kross, Ralph Fiennes). It made me realize how much a person could lose when all his decisions were grounded in fear: fear of admitting your weaknesses, fear of fighting for what you love, fear of standing up for salvation. When you bow down to fear too much, you lose yourself, literally and figuratively. I did not like how Hanna’s life ended but I preferred it for a film. I do not think Michael is much of a man  but looking back, I also let go of my first love the way he did, I did not give up much of a fight. And now that I can only know her whereabouts but not talk to her, I can only do so much. I just have to accept the consequences of being fearful during my teenage years. And be better the next time I fall in love.

LOVE. People say love knows no boundaries, no distance, no age, no anything. True enough. In the film, age was undefined, so was time and distance.  Michael said in the voice over that all a person needs to be happy is love. I thought that Hanna is selfish because she did not submit herself to Michael even if it was obvious he is the one she needed. Needless to say, she was his first. Like I said previously, Michael is also to blame for he did waste his chance. During the court trial when I think Hanna needed him most, he resorted to escape and temporary relief brought by cigarettes and another affair. That is a rather normal behavior for a guy his age, but those should not have been his actions. And then Hanna went to jail, Michael became a lawyer, all he could do is send her voice tapes of the books he once read her. I thought love has faded between them, but to Michael it seemed not.

ILLITERACY. Simply put, it is true that education could save oneself.

LITERATURE. In this world where new technology rules nowadays, people need to be reminded of the value literature could bring. It connects human souls, it gives a person another chance in life, it continues a story which could be traced from few letters only, and it could end miseries and relationships. More than that, it gives another meaning to life. What am I saying? ‘The woman with a little dog’ and ‘The Odyssey’ was not only referred to as a works of art, they gave value to Hanna’s character which made the film more efficient.

NAZIS AND JEWS. I have always been fascinated with stories that include Nazi occupation and Jew suffering. Not that I liked watching people suffer. Stories about them always touch me inside. I can feel the Jews’ agony and I sincerely feel sorry for them. I am grateful for the thing we call morality and justice in our current societal makeup. Films like this, along with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Schindler’s List, and A Beautiful Life taught me lessons on respecting our differences and valuing another person as much as I do to me.

Watch it and I hope you would feel that it is not really necessary to cry for the film. Like what happened to me, I bet it will give you countless painful and pinching moments that are better felt than when crying alone.