THE READER ****1/2

Kate Winslet is one of those actresses who never seems to pick a bad role. Like Meryl Streep, Winslet is powerful without speaking a word, her capability of attaching her audience to her emotions and actions are the true beauty of her work and The Reader is no exception.

Set in Germany back in 1958, Winslet plays Hannah Schmitz, a 30-year-old women who rescues a young boy named Michael(David Kross) after he falls ill outside her apartment. Michael is diagnosed with Scarlett Fever and is not allowed to leave home for three months.

After he recovers, Michael returns to Hannah's to thank her for helping him. From this point, an affair is started between both of them. During the time they spend together, Michael reads literature to Hannah. This turns into a lot of sex, even though Hannah continues to call Michael "kid", the sex works because that is what their affair is based on. They read, they have sex and for both of them it feels right, regardless of the age difference.

Their summer relationship stops abruptley when Hannah takes a promotion at her job, without telling Michael, she disappears. As years pass on Michael and Hannah are brought together again, but without Hannah knowing. Michael has to sit in on a trial for one of his college classes at law school. Hannah is standing trial for her role as an SS Guard who let 300 Jewish women die in a burning church after the death march of the evacuation of Auschwitz. What happens during the trial and a secret that can change the outcome of the fate of Anna unfold.

As Michael becomes an adult(Ralph Fiennes) he continues to struggle with the relationship he had with Anna as a child. His encounter at the end of the film with a Jewish women affected by the Holocaust brings a somewhat understanding to the sadness Michael has felt.

I want to get the point across that The Reader is not "another" Holocaust movie. Yes, the topic is dealt with and the issues involved are powerful accounts, but the movie takes you on a journey beyond the actions of Hannah. It's the secrets of the affair, the secret Michael chooses not to reveal during the trial and the same secret that Hannah never opened up about.

The Reader is a sad story, one of grief and embarrassment. What Kate Winslet is able to do with the character of Anna is make her vulnerable, there was never a thought of disgust for what she had done with the young boy. Experiencing this movie will take a lot out of most people, but the story you leave with is about redemption, you may not watch it more than once, but it will stick with you for a long time after.

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