based on novel or book,germany,war crimes,women's prison,trial,female prisoner,reading aloud,love affair,cynical,law student,teenage sexuality,older woman younger man relationship,reading to someone,secret lover,shame,literacy,frantic,west germany,courtroom drama,complex,cautionary,depressing,cruel,disheartening,embarrassed,tragic

The Reader (2008)

Poster for The Reader

Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

Cast & Crew

Director
Stephen Daldry
  • Profile picture of Kate Winslet
    Hanna Schmitz Kate Winslet
  • Profile picture of Ralph Fiennes
    Michael Berg Ralph Fiennes
  • Profile picture of David Kross
    Young Michael Berg David Kross
  • Profile picture of Lena Olin
    Rose Mather Lena Olin
  • Profile picture of Bruno Ganz
    Professor Rohl Bruno Ganz
  • Profile picture of Jeanette Hain
    Brigitte Jeanette Hain
  • Profile picture of Hannah Herzsprung
    Julia Hannah Herzsprung
  • Profile picture of Karoline Herfurth
    Marthe Karoline Herfurth

Recommendations

  • Poster for New York Stories
  • Poster for Little Children
  • Poster for Revolutionary Road
  • Poster for 17 Again
  • Poster for The Life of David Gale
  • Poster for Sea of Love
  • Poster for Carnage
  • Poster for The Constant Gardener

Keywords

  • based on novel or book
  • germany
  • war crimes
  • women's prison
  • trial
  • female prisoner
  • reading aloud
  • love affair
  • cynical
  • law student
  • teenage sexuality
  • older woman younger man relationship
  • reading to someone
  • secret lover
  • shame
  • literacy
  • frantic
  • west germany
  • courtroom drama
  • complex
  • cautionary
  • depressing
  • cruel
  • disheartening
  • embarrassed
  • tragic