

The Reader
Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.
The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.
TMDB
7.5/10
3,503 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $32M
- Box office
- $108.9M
- Language
- English
- based on novel or book
- germany
- war crimes
- world war ii
- women's prison
- trial
- female prisoner
- reading aloud
- love affair
- cynical
- law student
- teenage sexuality
Top billed cast


















Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- Theatrical (limited)RNew York City, New York10 Dec 2008
- TheatricalR30 Jan 2009
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical152 Jan 2009
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalM19 Feb 2009
CanadaCA
- Theatrical (limited)R10 Dec 2008
BrazilBR
- Theatrical166 Feb 2009
CzechiaCZ
- Theatrical18+23 Apr 2009
FranceFR
- Theatrical1215 Jul 2009
GermanyDE
- Premiere12Berlin International Film Festival6 Feb 2009
- Theatrical1226 Feb 2009
GreeceGR
- Theatrical8 Jan 2009
Hong KongHK
- Theatrical19 Mar 2009
HungaryHU
- Theatrical1623 Apr 2009
- Physical16DVD8 Sept 2009
IrelandIE
- Theatrical162 Jan 2009
Frequently asked questions
The Reader was released on 10 December 2008.
Audience reviews
3- C7/10
CinemaSerf
6/6/2022
David Kross is really effective in this tale of a young boy ("Michael") who encounters "Hanna" (Kate Winslet) as he shelters in her doorway from a rainstorm. In fairly short order, this fifteen year old boy becomes her lover; in return she gets him to read to her. He is soon infatuated and devastated when he turns up at her apartment one day to find her gone. Skip on thirty years or so and he - now Ralph Fiennes - ta…
- B4/10
badelf
5/23/2023
I didn't turn this movie off after the beautiful sex scenes only because two others were watching it with me. The mere fact that "Germans" were speaking English totally destroyed the whole "suspend disbelief" for me. This film is an awful rendition by Brits of an award-winning German book. Perhaps, only someone from the Nachgeborenen (to coin Bertolt Brecht's meaning of German post-Holocaust generations) should have …
- A9/10
Alunauwie
9/30/2025
The Reader blends a controversial romance with post-war German guilt, presenting a layered, emotional story carried by powerful performances and thoughtful direction. Despite some logical gaps, the film succeeds in portraying personal and societal struggles through its characters' trauma and secrets. It’s a compelling watch for those drawn to slow-burning dramas with moral complexity. Read the full review here: (I…
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