Reviews

This movie belongs to my favorite category -- the movies that make you think. So, naturally, worth watching. I was surprised to see that a lot of reviewers were focusing on the accuracy of details and their perceived misrepresentation of the orthodox Jewish community by the creators of the film. To me those things are almost irrelevant. The plot would hold true for any situation, in which people are forced to choose between personal happiness and expectation of certain behavior their immediate family, society, etc. put on them.

This movie portrays very well the ridiculous cruelty of the artificially created predicaments, and our inability to clearly determine right from wrong, when we are truly tested and must search within ourselves to find the right path. I really don't want to pick it apart and critique the cast and crew in this review for the simple reason that the movie, as a whole, completely delivers and is, in my opinion, excellent. If I had to find other movies that (in a way) deal with a similar dilemma and had a similar impact on me, I would pick Brokeback Mountain and The Reader.

My favorite kind of movie is the kind that presents me with a moral quest and provides me with food for thought.

Movies like that will make you suffer to deliver the point, and, therefore, are hard to enjoy. I almost never watch them more than once, but boy, do I keep going back to them in my thoughts...

If you can relate to any of the above in one way or another, you might find that The Reader is the movie you've been waiting for the last couple of years. In that case - do not miss it. I wish I could say "get ready for a feast", but I can't. Instead, get ready to be faced with the eternal "what would you have done?" dilemma, which will keep you wonder and question yourself well into the final credits. And that's exactly why this move is so amazingly good. Enjoy it... if you can.