THE READER

I love when I see a movie that I know nothing about. With all of the media access points available to us today in papers and magazines and websites and blogs and radio and TV, it's tough to not know anything about movies. So when one comes along that I know nothing about, and I literally have no idea even what the movie is about, and I see it, and it actually turns out to be a good film, man, that's a good feeling. And thank the maker for DVR's. I wouldn't see most of the movies and tv shows that I do if it weren't for the DVR. So a week or two ago I saw "The Reader" on HBO and decided to record it. It sat there for a week or two before I even thought about watching it. I remembered that last year at the Oscars it was nominated for and won some awards. So I taped it, not really expecting much. And I watched it. And I loved it. I was so surprised by that movie. I literally knew nothing about it and had no expectations about it at all. All I can say is that it moved me. The acting was so top notch, it was so real. Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar for her portrayal of Anna Schmitz. Ms. Winslet is a terrific actor, and she's beautiful and she's damn sexy. The movie felt authentic and real. I felt like I was sitting at that dinner table with Michael Berg and his family because of the detail in the actor's costumes, the silverware, the bowls they were eating soup out of. I'm not going to get into any moralistic discussion here about what's right and what's not when i comes to affairs of the heart and when people mix the underage/legal age of affairs. I don't care about that discussion really at all. I do care about the Nazi war crimes trial but that's not what I'm here to write about either. The point of me writing this short little post is that I loved the movie, but moreover, I loved being surprised by such a great piece of art. Cinema is art. It is a collaborative effort of love and creativity and technical magic. The lighting was excellent, the direction was brilliant and the acting was so perfect. Just a great work of art. It wasn't at all the chick flick I thought it was going to be. It wasn't a chick flick at all. Yes, it was part love story, but what's wrong with a love story? One of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride is a love story. When Harry Met Sally is a terrific love story. But The Reader was incredible, it could've won the Best Film Oscar. If you haven't seen it, you should. It has such an unexpected twist in the middle, it's really quite compelling and thought provoking. Rent it, tape it, watch it. You won't be sorry.