Movie Review

1. AIVY CLAIRE R. VIOS July30, 2016
BEE=III
THE READER
The Reader is a story about love, shame and regret. It is a story of a typical teenager Michael
who meets a much older woman, Hanna. They have a passionate affair that lasted for several months.
Hanna wants Michael to read aloud to her and then they make love. Michael falls deeply with Hanna
and it is clear that Hanna also loves Michael but she finds it hard to express it. Until time came that
Hanna leaves Michael uninform. Michael is left heart broken by the strange end of the relationship.
After several years their lives crossed again. By this time Hanna is accused of murder. She is
ashamed of being illiterate and in order to hide this she doesn’t defend herself which made her come
up with the poorest decision in her life. Michael feel guilty on not trying to save Hanna since he is
the only one knows Hanna’s illiteracy. Because of his guilt, he send recorded stories to Hanna where
it help Hanna read and write.
There are many ways to express love and this love can control the behavior of anyone. One
way of expressing love is to involve sexual activities and it impacts the minds and the hearts of the
participants. Like what have happened in the character of the movie. At the very young age Michael
engaged into sexual activities which made him fall in love easily with the woman who is much older
than him. He got obsessed and he feels loss of himself. He feels that he can’t live without Hanna
because Hanna completes him.
Another way of expressing love is to sacrifice own happiness for the sake of your love ones
happiness. Just like what had happened in the movie. I don’t believe that Hanna’s reason for leaving
Michael is to make him hurt. I know she also love Michael and because of that love he let Michael
live his life like what teenagers live their life. Hanna might think that Michael deserves to be with his
peers with the same age of him.
Michael is too young when he enters a romantic affair but his failure in moving on does not
show his immaturity because in his case it is hard for him to be left by the one he love. He almost
gives everything to Hanna. He gave time, effort, and even his body and soul yet he was left out
uninformed. It is really hard to let go of the person who gives you happiness.
Love is also showing forgiveness and acceptance. Just like what the two characters show in
the end part of the movie during their last conversation in the cafeteria. The two characters still show
their love by accepting the things that happened to them. Their braveness in facing each other after
all those years show their deep love. They might not show their love perfectly because both of them
has lapses, but still they find time and ways to fulfill it in the best that they could and that’s the true
essence of love.
But we all know the results of the happenings in our life are because of the choices we tend
to follow. If ever we came to a situation that all things seems sucks that is the time that we should
reflect on what we did, that’s the time when we start again to think and plan wisely the things we
must do. What we need to do to avoid regrets about the decision we made is that we should tend to
do the things that will make us happy and always ask God to guide us in whatever decision we make
in life.