Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 13, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
She is mysterious and much older than he is—and she becomes his first passion. One day Hanna (Kate Winslet) disappears without a trace. Michael (David Kross/Ralph Fiennes) does not see her again until years later—as a defendant in a courtroom. There he learns of her personal fate and her cruel past as a concentration-camp guard. In the end, he will redeem her through the affection he never lost.
With THE READER, Oscar®-nominated and multiple-award-winning director Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billy Elliot) adapted a global bestseller that, since its publication in 1995, has been translated into 40 languages and received numerous national and international awards. It is the film version of an impossible, unusual and intensely powerful love that binds two people’s lives together forever. Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes shine in the leading roles, while German rising star David Kross (Krabat, Tough Enough) plays the title role. The ensemble also includes such outstanding performers as Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Burghart Klaußner, Hannah Herzsprung, Karoline Herfurth, Matthias Habich, Alexandra Maria Lara and many others.
The adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s international bestseller THE READER will celebrate its German premiere out of competition at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.
In addition to a nomination for the 2009 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award (Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role/Kate Winslet), the film has 13 BAFTA longlist nominations: Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Director, Make-up & Hair, Sound, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Cinematography, Music, Leading Actress and Supporting Actor (David Kross, Ralph Fiennes). The American Society of Cinematographers has also nominated Roger Deakins for Best Cinematography (THE READER and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD).
THE READER was produced by 9. Babelsberg Film GmbH. Its producers are the late Oscar® winners Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack (Mirage Enterprises), as well as Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris. Bob and Harvey Weinstein served as executive producers. The co-producers are Carl L. Woebcken and Christoph Fisser of Studio Babelsberg, together with Henning Molfenter of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures. The associate producers are Michael Simon de Normier of SenfkornFilm, Tarik Karam, Nora Skinner and Marieke Spencer.
The novel was adapted for the screen by Oscar®-nominated writer David Hare, who previously worked with Daldry on The Hours. THE READER was photographed by Oscar® winner Chris Menges (The Killing Fields, Michael Collins) and Oscar® nominee Roger Deakins (Fargo, No Country for Old Men).
Cinema release: February 26, 2009
Further Links:
- More information
