The Reader (2008)
OK, I suppose everyone else is watching the Oscars. Well, forget it. It's already sewn up. I do want to see Jerry Lewis, though. I've always loved his movies. But so do the French which possibly explains why they've never won a war unless they were fighting themselves. Sorry, bad hold-over joke from the Freedom Fries War.
We saw this incredible movie in the theatre the other night. Partly why it's so good is that it is so controversial and thought-provoking. The themes carry way beyond the post-Holocaust, German guilt/angst issue. It's hard to say too much without giving away some key plot lines. When they come up, it's a surprise and an emotional one. Teachers will find a particular emotional response separate from the other issues. People looking for sex will be disappointed. It really isn't that big a part of the movie. Although the possibility that there is anal sex involved does add another layer to the issues.
We read the book several months ago. It's a very good book and the movie is, too. But the movie can highlight several things that would have been hard in the book. Look at the scene where the defendant is asked why she did what she did. Then she asks the judge, "What would you have done?" The judge's response tells the whole story about what the movie feels any German would have done. Also, look carefully at the scene in the outdoor cafe when she looks at the group of children doing what she can't. Also, the apartment scene towards the end. The elegance of the decorations contrasted with the tin box. And where she puts it.
Next up is a movie about American guilt. What did we know, when did we know it, and why in the hell didn't we bomb the train tracks?
The beginning of the movie has a scene in an English classroom. The teacher says something like the sum of all literature is the secret that each character carries throughout the story. I think the whole movie is about each person's secret. Listen to the emotional question posed by the law professor.
Mary Oliver's collection of poems, When I Wake Up In the Morning includes this poem. I happened to read it the day after watching the movie. It pretty much sums up all the issues in the movie for me.
The Arrowhead
by Mary Oliver
OK, I suppose everyone else is watching the Oscars. Well, forget it. It's already sewn up. I do want to see Jerry Lewis, though. I've always loved his movies. But so do the French which possibly explains why they've never won a war unless they were fighting themselves. Sorry, bad hold-over joke from the Freedom Fries War.
We saw this incredible movie in the theatre the other night. Partly why it's so good is that it is so controversial and thought-provoking. The themes carry way beyond the post-Holocaust, German guilt/angst issue. It's hard to say too much without giving away some key plot lines. When they come up, it's a surprise and an emotional one. Teachers will find a particular emotional response separate from the other issues. People looking for sex will be disappointed. It really isn't that big a part of the movie. Although the possibility that there is anal sex involved does add another layer to the issues.
We read the book several months ago. It's a very good book and the movie is, too. But the movie can highlight several things that would have been hard in the book. Look at the scene where the defendant is asked why she did what she did. Then she asks the judge, "What would you have done?" The judge's response tells the whole story about what the movie feels any German would have done. Also, look carefully at the scene in the outdoor cafe when she looks at the group of children doing what she can't. Also, the apartment scene towards the end. The elegance of the decorations contrasted with the tin box. And where she puts it.
Next up is a movie about American guilt. What did we know, when did we know it, and why in the hell didn't we bomb the train tracks?
The beginning of the movie has a scene in an English classroom. The teacher says something like the sum of all literature is the secret that each character carries throughout the story. I think the whole movie is about each person's secret. Listen to the emotional question posed by the law professor.
Mary Oliver's collection of poems, When I Wake Up In the Morning includes this poem. I happened to read it the day after watching the movie. It pretty much sums up all the issues in the movie for me.
The Arrowhead
by Mary Oliver
The arrowhead,
which I found beside the river,
was glittering and pointed.
I picked it up, and said,
"Now, it's mine."
I thought of showing it to friends,
I thought of putting it-such an imposing trinket-
in a little box, on my desk.
Halfway home, past the cut fields,
the old ghost
stood under the hickories.
"I would rather drink the wind," he said,
"I would rather eat mud and die
than steal as you still steal,
than lie as you still lie."
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