Love in the time
of genocide

The Reader is a well told, if
excruciating, Holocaust story

LOVE AND HATE CRIMES: Kross and Winslet

by MATTHEW HAYS

Heart-grabbing storyteller Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) brings us some Holocaust-related themes with his latest film, The Reader, based on Bernhard Schlink’s celebrated novel.

As a teenager coming of age in post-WWII Germany, Michael (David Kross) ends up having an affair with a woman twice his age (Kate Winslet). Theirs is a lusty romance, brought to vivid life with soft, lush lighting and—for mainstream filmmaking, anyway—what seems like fairly blunt sex scenes. Winslet is illiterate, so he reads various stories to her. Cut to a few years later, and the slightly older Michael is now in law school, where he and his mates are attending the trials of various Nazi collaborators. Turns out Winslet had been a guard during the war years, seeing that the genocide ran smoothly.

This becomes an obvious test of the we-were-only-taking-orders defence. Michael looks on helplessly, not sure how to reconcile his feelings for this woman—someone he once loved but who was indeed complicit in what many consider the worst hate crime of the 20th century.

Years later, the middle-aged Michael (now played by Ralph Fiennes) is struggling to get past a divorce and maintains contact with Winslet through letters. He also tapes his readings to her so she can play them back. She’s inspired to learn how to read, so desperate for contact with anyone in the outside world. Eventually, she will get out of prison and he’s basically her only connection to the rest of humanity. Tragedy ensues.

This is a beautifully shot and well acted film, and The Reader is guaranteed to get you out of a good mood, should you happen to be in one, or to enhance your depression, should you be feeling blue. Here’s a suggestion: have you been having a hard time with your family lately? Did they get you gifts that look like they all came from Dollarama?

On Christmas day, tell them you’ve heard of a wonderful family film you’d like to take them to, something guaranteed to warm their hearts. When you sit down in the cinema, be sure to position yourself so you can see the looks of horror and anguish on their faces as they realize they’re watching one of the grimmest movies in years. Enjoy!

THE READER OPENS THIS
THURSDAY, DEC. 25