The Reader

I've been wanting to see this film ever since I first heard about it. First, because Kate Winslet is probably my favorite actress and fantastic and diverse in everything she does. And secondly, I'll admit, because the subject matter seemed so salacious: older woman has sex with underaged boy and turns out to be some sort of Nazi. I'm not a pervert; it's just that there's no way you can read that description of a film and not think it sounds interesting. Plus, the fact that it was nominated for multiple Academy Awards and starred Kate Winslet meant that it had to be more than just a sensationalized sex story.

And it was. As soon as I finished watching it, I felt eager to recommend it to my family. Upon second thought, I realized that it really does have quite a few very nude love scenes and might not be the best "family film." But the reason why I initially failed to remember the multiple sex scenes in this film is exactly the reason why it's so good: this is one of those rare movies where I felt the sex/nudity was neither gratuitous nor did it overshadow the point of the movie. I can't say much without giving too much away, but for me, this film was ultimately about the life of one woman as discovered by a boy (and later man) who once, and perhaps still does, unconventionally love her. A truly good film has the ability to take an obscure and unrelatable situation (for example, a Nazi woman who has sex with fifteen year old boys) and help us see our own humanity in it.

King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes (funny, I always thought it was Shakespeare) "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Though we don't all consummate our lust for people that are off limits, and we certainly aren't all Nazis, the emotions portrayed in this film - wonder, innocence, uncertainty, excitement, confusion, shame, pity, anger, grief, love - have been felt throughout the ages, time and time again, by all sorts of people. This film recognizes both the beauty, and the frailty, of such emotions, no matter who they are felt by. While The Reader by no means celebrates the actions of the characters in the film, it honors the integrity of the emotions that result from them.

I am so glad I watched this film, and so glad that Ms. Winslet finally, finally won her much deserved Oscar.