The Reader is a 2008 German-English romantic drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by David Hare, adapted from the 1995 German novel Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink, and starring Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, and Karoline Herfurth.
The film tells the story of Michael Berg, a Berlin lawyer who, as a 15-year-old in 1958, has a brief summer affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz. She leaves abruptly, only to reappear years later as one of the defendants on trial for war crimes stemming from her actions as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp. Michael realizes that Hanna is keeping a personal secret that she believes is worse than her Nazi pastβa secret that, if revealed, could help her at trial.
In 1958, 15-year-old Michael Berg falls ill while riding a tram in an unnamed provincial town. He is helped by 36-year-old tram conductor Hanna Schmitz. A few weeks later, Michael recovers from scarlet fever and, at his mother’s insistence, visits Hanna with flowers to thank her for her help. They continue a secret affair over the summer, with Hanna often asking Michael to read to her. They take a short cycling holiday in the countryside, where Michael begins to notice some strange things about Hanna’s behavior. However, as their sexual relationship deepens, it becomes more tumultuous, as his attempts to form a deeper relationship are rebuffed by her secretive nature. A good and reliable worker, Hanna is soon promoted, but then abruptly leaves her job without explanation. Michael visits Hanna to apologize after an argument, but is devastated and heartbroken to find her apartment empty.
In 1966, Michael was a student at the University of Heidelberg Law School and witnessed the war crimes trial of several former SS guards accused of allowing 300 Jewish women and children to die in a burning church during a death march near KrakΓ³w, Poland. Michael is horrified to learn that Hanna is one of the defendants. Survivor Ilana Mather gives testimony, including that Hanna forced some of the prisoners to read to her. Hanna admits that she and her co-defendants selected ten women each month to be killed at Auschwitz in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Ilana’s mother, Rose, testifies that when the church caught fire during a bombing, the guards refused to unlock the door. The official SS report states that the guards did not know about the fire until the next day. Hanna reveals that the guards had actually locked the doors to prevent the prisoners from escaping. Hanna’s co-defendants all claim that she was in charge and wrote the report. Hanna denies this, claiming that they had agreed on the report’s contents. When the main judge asks for a handwriting sample, Hanna quickly incriminates herself by admitting that she wrote the report. Remembering their time together, Michael is initially confused by her testimony, eventually deducing that Hanna was deeply embarrassed by her illiteracy.
Michael informs his law professor, who says that Michael should inform the court. Deeply conflicted, Michael attempts to visit Hanna in prison, but changes his mind. Hanna is sentenced to life in prison, while her co-defendants are each sentenced to more than four years in prison.
Michael tried to move on, although he was haunted by memories of a relationship he could not forget. He married and had a daughter, however, Michael was unable to fully commit to the relationship and became increasingly distant from his family, culminating in divorce and estrangement from his daughter Julia.
Throughout the 1980s, Michael recorded himself reading various books and regularly sent them to Hanna. Borrowing these books from the prison library, Hanna gradually taught herself to read and write. She began writing letters to Michael, but he never responded. In 1988, a prison official asked Michael to help Hanna win parole, as he was the only person outside the prison who had contact with her. Michael eventually visited Hanna, revealing in an awkward reunion that he had secured her a place to live and a job. When Michael arrives to free Hanna, he is informed that she has committed suicide in her cell and left behind a crude will that asks Michael to give money to Ilana Mather.
Michael finds Ilana in New York City, revealing his connection to Hanna and its lasting impact. He tells Ilana about Hanna’s illiteracy, but she rejects it and refuses to forgive Hanna. Michael gives her a tea box filled with Hanna’s cash, but Ilana refuses to accept the money. He suggests donating the money to a Jewish literacy organization in Hanna’s name, and Ilana agrees. She keeps the news, placing it next to a photo of her deceased family.
