The Reader

2h 4min

Drama

Romance

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.

Production Companies

The Weinstein Company

Mirage Enterprises

Studio Babelsberg

Cast

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

Hanna Schmitz
Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

Michael Berg
David Kross

David Kross

Young Michael Berg
Lena Olin

Lena Olin

Rose Mather
Bruno Ganz

Bruno Ganz

Professor Rohl
Volker Bruch

Volker Bruch

Dieter Spenz
Alexandra Maria Lara

Alexandra Maria Lara

Young Ilana Mather
Fabian Busch

Fabian Busch

Hanna's Defense Council
Susanne Lothar

Susanne Lothar

Carla Berg
Matthias Habich

Matthias Habich

Peter Berg
Sylvester Groth

Sylvester Groth

Prosecuting Council
Jürgen Tarrach

Jürgen Tarrach

Gerhard Bade
Kirsten Block

Kirsten Block

Female Judge
Margarita Broich

Margarita Broich

Co-Defendant
Marie Gruber

Marie Gruber

Co-Defendant
Martin Brambach

Martin Brambach

Remand Prison Guard #1
Carmen-Maja Antoni

Carmen-Maja Antoni

Prison Librarian
Heike Hanold-Lynch

Heike Hanold-Lynch

Prison Guard
Linda Bassett

Linda Bassett

Ms. Brenner
Benjamin Trinks

Benjamin Trinks

Holger's friend

Release date

10th Dec 2008

Status

Released

Spoken languages

English, Deutsch, ελληνικά, Latin