So, wow, I "finally" "broke down" and saw "The Reader" after picking it up from Blockbuster when they didn't have the 2nd disc from the 1st season of "Mad Men." They had the 1st and the 3rd discs, but oh no, not the 2nd coz someone in Petaluma was out to get me before I moved!
Anyway, I can see why Kate Winslet won the Oscar. In an odd way, it reminded me of, no kidding, Paul Rudd's performance in "I Love You, Man." Both portrayed someone struggling with an inability to "connect" on some level--and watching the both of them in, admittedly, wildly different roles struggle with who they are and/or were was often very painful to watch.
A bit of a stretch, I know, but I can't help it, that's what I thought of.
But it's obvious that Stephen Daldry, the director, is aiming for the title of "Most Heartwrenching" what with this, The Hours, and Billy Elliot.
So I'll really be curious to see what he does with "The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier & Clay."
Anyway again, would be curious to hear back from folks who've seen this movie with their thoughts about what "The Reader" says about morality, and if--SPOILER ALERT--you would have done the same thing as the boy and turned around and walked out of the prison w/o seeing her. And, most importantly, what did you think of her in the end?
Although the movie was VERY painful to watch at times, I'm one of those people who likes being taken out of his comfort zone, who likes having his "code" and concepts of morality challenged. It's part of why I like "Dexter" so much!
Hmmm, I feel a poll coming on...
I kinda think that what happened in Nazi Germany was SO. VERY. BIZARRE. that it is nearly impossible for us today to judge the "everyday citizens" who failed to do.......what exactly? It's easy to look back and see how horrible it was, but how will we be judged for allowing the things to happen that did under Dubya? And NO, I am not directly comparing Hitler to Dubya.
Not directly. :)
Besides, on the other hand, I kinda feel like the guy in the law seminar who was screeching at Michael and the Professor that, no, we don't need to know why they did what they did, we need to know how "you" could let them get away with what they did and why you didn't kill yourself once you found out. Oooh, snap!
This same young German law student, in the mid-60s, claimed in the movie that not only were there thousands of camps throughout Germany, but that everyone, everyone (his emphasis) knew. I would be curious to know how true this is. I confess to having this naive fantasy that a good chunk of Germans didn't know so very much about what was going on, but is that just to protect my own moral sensibilities as a fellow human being?
It's bad enough when individuals, and governments, composed of "human beings," commit atrocities--it's almost inconceivable when an entire nation does. Hard stuff.
Poll on how comfortable you are with being taken out of your comfort zone:
Coming soon: Why I think Baby Boomers should lose their drivers licenses, and is it too soon for me to be bitching about the tourists? :)
