The Reader
Short description
Set in post-war Germany, the story follows Michael Berg, who begins a secret romantic relationship with an older woman named Hanna Schmitz when he is a teenager in the late 1950s. After Hanna unexpectedly disappears, Michael encounters her years later while studying law. She is now a defendant in a trial regarding war crimes committed during her time as a concentration camp guard. During the proceedings, Michael is the only person to realize that Hanna is illiterate, a fact she attempts to hide even if it costs her her freedom.
Directed by Stephen Daldry, this film arrived after his work on Billy Elliot and The Hours. The cast features Ralph Fiennes and David Kross as Michael Berg at different ages, alongside Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz. The production was a collaboration between companies in the United States and Germany, including The Weinstein Company and Studio Babelsberg.
With a budget of 32 million USD, the movie earned 109 million USD worldwide. Audience reception is generally positive, with a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb from 273,000 votes and a 7.5/10 rating on TMDB from 3,476 votes. These scores are higher than the 6.7/10 rating provided by film critics based on 201 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Kate Winslet was the main contender for the lead female role from the very beginning, but she initially declined the offer, citing her commitment to filming the drama "Revolutionary Road" (2008). In the fall of 2007, the role went to Nicole Kidman, who was then working on Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" (2008). For this reason, work on the project was frozen for a while, but after filming of "Australia" was completed, the actress refused to participate, citing her pregnancy. The role became vacant, and Kate Winslet, now available, agreed to take it.
- The book's author, Bernhard Schlink, insisted from the beginning that the film adaptation be made in English, not German, believing that this would give it a wider audience. The writer believed this was especially important, as the problem of the consequences of the Holocaust concerns not only Germany.
- Two of the film's producers, Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, passed away before the project was completed in the spring of 2008.
- The film rights to the novel were acquired by Miramax Films as early as April 1998, but actual work on the project did not begin until nine years later, in the second half of 2007.
- The role of Hanna Schmitz could also have gone to Juliette Binoche.
- Applying Kate Winslet's makeup for the final part of the film required approximately seven hours of intensive work.
- The filmmakers received $4.1 million (2.8 million euros) in additional funding from German regional and federal organizations.
- Three composers initially vied to write the music for the film: Nico Muhly, Alberto Iglesias, and Ozren K. Gläser, but the first was ultimately chosen.
- Filming took place from March 2nd to July 14th, 2008, in the German cities of Berlin, Görlitz, and Cologne.
- With the exception of Ralph Fiennes, Lena Olin, and Kate Winslet, the film featured exclusively German actors.
- The film is based on the novel by German professor, lawyer, and writer Bernhard Schlink, "The Reader" (Der Vorleser, 1995), first published in Germany (with a total print run of over 500,000 copies). Two years later, the book was translated into English and released in the United States, becoming the first German-language work to top the New York Times literary bestseller chart (with a total of over 750,000 copies sold). At the time of the film's release, the novel had been translated into 37 different languages, including Russian.
- David Kross, the 18-year-old German actor who played the young Michael in the film, spoke almost no English when he was cast, which required intensive study during the preparation period. Essentially, in a limited time, he had to learn and become fluent in a new language. The accents of the other actors were chosen to match his pronunciation.
- The explicit love scenes between Kate Winslet and David Kross were filmed at the very end, after the actor turned eighteen on July 4th, 2008. This was necessary due to strict German laws.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
