Second Film: "The Reader"
"The Reader" is the second film in my selection in this journey I have undertaken. Is it funny/amusing that I have chosen to do this to myself. I am, in a sense, withdrawing myself from life in order to live vicariously through these films, which is something I realized, a few months ago, that I tend to do quite often...live my life through films, connect my life to characters from favorite movies, hell, I quote many like you've never seen them yourself). I was asked last night at my meditation course why I am taking on such a feat (of strength, perhaps- Can my brain muster the strength sit through 365 films?) and how exactly I will be choosing said-films. There really is no rhyme or reason to my selection. I have many (and I mean MANY) DVDs in my home library (about 1/4 that I may have not even seen, so I started watching them alphabetically, backwards, as a way to force myself to watch them all (and of course weed out the ones that I clearly made a ridiculous choice in purchasing), but also this adventure will include NETFLIX because of the beauty and ease of "watch instantly" I have discovered there are a lot of films I've yet to see (many hidden gems, too). I also consider myself a writer, who finds excuses or distractions that keeps himself from writing, so this adventure is going to force me to write. I won't forgot about my life as I stroll through this adventure. Instead, I will incorporate my life and all the goings-on within the same adventure.
So, now on to "The Reader." A brief synopsis. It is a romantic story about a teenage boy (15) who has an affair with a woman twice his senior after falling ill one day in the street near her apartment. She takes him in, and like any teenage boy with hormones and familial relations that leave a little to be desired he becomes very attached to his caretaker quickly. The woman (played by Kate Winslet) seemingly takes advantage of this boy's infatuation to get what she wants from him as well (which in the beginning seems to be simply sex. Sex. And a lot of it. She takes the role of his sexual teacher. But then, she seems to want more from him. She wants him to read to her. In fact, when his hormones over take his desire to just simply "hook up" with this older woman she states, "First you read, then we make love." Really? Make love? I feel as though that is a poor choice of words since they both seem to be using each other. I mean, what teenage boy would turn down the opportunity when presented so easily to him? While watching the relationship between the two characters, I couldn't help but find similarities between it and "Lolita" except here the roles are reversed. I have read elsewhere that the nudity in the film is necessary, to convey the sexual desire each have for the other, but I couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable while watching it. To the core, this is a pedophilia-based relationship, simply wrong and the fact that we see these characters bare themselves during the acts is unnecessary, at least in my view. The same message could have been received, since I believe there is a much larger message here. The film loses its sense of "deepness" (which if I was a teenage boy watching it, I would have completely looked past because, hey, there's nudity, but let's face it, I'm older and more mature and I've been given a new lens for which to look at films through).
The deeper message underlying in "The Reader" is German guilt (which seems to have been passed down from generations) as well as societal compliance. I mean, that is something I will have to study more, which this film (as well as another well-crafted film "Compliance" recently released), but there is something to be said for an entire group of people (Germans) complying to the propaganda of Hitler and no one standing up and saying "This is wrong." 6 women are found guilty of war crimes against 6 million Jews that an entire population of Germans condoned by not saying anything.
What would you do? Compliance and holding in your secret for the sake of humility. Does she get what she deserves?
The fact that he reads to her becomes very important though. She has been keeping a secret from him, which it is later revealed to us, and which I will not reveal to you here.
This woman is later arrested for war crimes as a Nazi guard at a concentration camp during the Holocaust. the boy grows up to be a lawyer and is present at her trial while at law school. He soon re-acquaints himself with his past lover, but with a completely different intent. He fights against what seems to be justice that she deserves (for her crimes against Jews during WW2) and the simply truth that her secret should alleviate some guilt from her.
I read the book a few years ago and I liked the book much better. I felt more emotionally attached to the characters and their situations when I read the words. I think the filmmakers missed that point, even though the actors give stellar performances (especially the teenager).
Do yourself a favor, read the book. Then maybe see the film afterwards.
So, now on to "The Reader." A brief synopsis. It is a romantic story about a teenage boy (15) who has an affair with a woman twice his senior after falling ill one day in the street near her apartment. She takes him in, and like any teenage boy with hormones and familial relations that leave a little to be desired he becomes very attached to his caretaker quickly. The woman (played by Kate Winslet) seemingly takes advantage of this boy's infatuation to get what she wants from him as well (which in the beginning seems to be simply sex. Sex. And a lot of it. She takes the role of his sexual teacher. But then, she seems to want more from him. She wants him to read to her. In fact, when his hormones over take his desire to just simply "hook up" with this older woman she states, "First you read, then we make love." Really? Make love? I feel as though that is a poor choice of words since they both seem to be using each other. I mean, what teenage boy would turn down the opportunity when presented so easily to him? While watching the relationship between the two characters, I couldn't help but find similarities between it and "Lolita" except here the roles are reversed. I have read elsewhere that the nudity in the film is necessary, to convey the sexual desire each have for the other, but I couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable while watching it. To the core, this is a pedophilia-based relationship, simply wrong and the fact that we see these characters bare themselves during the acts is unnecessary, at least in my view. The same message could have been received, since I believe there is a much larger message here. The film loses its sense of "deepness" (which if I was a teenage boy watching it, I would have completely looked past because, hey, there's nudity, but let's face it, I'm older and more mature and I've been given a new lens for which to look at films through).
The deeper message underlying in "The Reader" is German guilt (which seems to have been passed down from generations) as well as societal compliance. I mean, that is something I will have to study more, which this film (as well as another well-crafted film "Compliance" recently released), but there is something to be said for an entire group of people (Germans) complying to the propaganda of Hitler and no one standing up and saying "This is wrong." 6 women are found guilty of war crimes against 6 million Jews that an entire population of Germans condoned by not saying anything.
What would you do? Compliance and holding in your secret for the sake of humility. Does she get what she deserves?
The fact that he reads to her becomes very important though. She has been keeping a secret from him, which it is later revealed to us, and which I will not reveal to you here.
This woman is later arrested for war crimes as a Nazi guard at a concentration camp during the Holocaust. the boy grows up to be a lawyer and is present at her trial while at law school. He soon re-acquaints himself with his past lover, but with a completely different intent. He fights against what seems to be justice that she deserves (for her crimes against Jews during WW2) and the simply truth that her secret should alleviate some guilt from her.
I read the book a few years ago and I liked the book much better. I felt more emotionally attached to the characters and their situations when I read the words. I think the filmmakers missed that point, even though the actors give stellar performances (especially the teenager).
Do yourself a favor, read the book. Then maybe see the film afterwards.
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