The Reader poster

The Reader

Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.

7.5(3,503)20082h 4m13

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.

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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

Writers

David Hare

Produced in

Germany, United States of America

Where to watch

All options

Availability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.

Gallery

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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
  • C

    CinemaSerf

    6/6/2022

    7/10

    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…

  • B

    badelf

    5/23/2023

    4/10

    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 …

  • A

    Alunauwie

    9/30/2025

    9/10

    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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