jawnbc | The Reader

When I consume materials related to the Holocaust I have to remember that not everyone grew up in a place where the subject is taught in elementary school. I'm appreciative that it was in my case.

A lot of you have perhaps seen the film or read the novel; regardless I won't get into the plot here--you can find synopses all over the 'net, along with polemics of various sorts. It's perfect! It's evil! It's Zionist propaganda! It's German apologia.

Yeah, sure, fine, whatever.

As we left the cinema, I posed the all important question to

querrelle : what did you think? We agreed that Kate Winslet truly is extraordinary in the role (I generally think she's great;

querrelle's not much of a fan), and if she does win the nude gold man she'll have earned it. After that, we each had different reactions to the main characters. Much of our conversation centred on notions of morality and culpability: how much do attribute to individuals, and do we give any allowance for circumstance. We didn't disagree that circumstance can mitigate one's culpability--not just Hannah's (the role Winslet played) but also her young lover Michael's--but rather on degrees. Were Hannah's decisions rooted in hatred, ignorance, fear, or some combination thereof? Were Michael's rooted in heartbreak, vengeance, or disgust?

As we discussed these things,

querrelle said "well, if a movie has us asking these sorts of questions, that's a pretty good measure of its quality."

I would have to agree.