The Reader

The Reader

The Reader was set in Germany, when Kate Winslet, in her thirties, had an affair with a fifteen year old David Kross. The affair lasted a summer and Kate disappeared, carrying her secret. David went on to become a law student and after all these years, he finally met Kate again, albeit on trial for war crimes as a former SS guard.

As the story unfold, Kate's secret began to unravel. It began with David remembering how Kate always loved being read to every time they meet. Her disappearance, her refusal to submit a handwriting proof all boiled down to her pride and shame to cover the fact that she was illiterate. Kate was sentenced to life in prison.

As David journeyed to Auschwitz to witness the horror of the camps, you could vividly sense his turmoil on the train back. How could a woman he loved be a part of this inhumanity, but did it mean he should do nothing and see her punished, just because she wanted to hide her shame?

This was the point when both characters amended the past. David had never forgotten his love for Kate, but his conscience could not forgive her. So David became the reader again. He read to her on tape, book after book.

After twenty years in prison, Kate eventually learned to read and write. I teared up when David received a one sentence letter from Kate telling him about the book, "The lady and the little dog".

The ending was how Kate and David finally chose to face their own worst demon, guilt. The span of over twenty years finally allowed them to forgive each other, forgive themselves and gave a closure to their love affair.

I loved the movie.