The Reader Genre Guide: Story, Cast and Movie Facts

The Reader (2008) — an evergreen reference for this movie: the essentials, the cast, where to watch and what to watch next. Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.

Where to watch

TMDB's U.S. watch-provider data lists fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Britbox Apple TV Channel , Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Curiosity Stream, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel. Availability changes by country and date, so check your streaming app before watching.

Cast

Ralph Fiennes as Michael Berg; Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz; David Kross as Young Michael Berg; Lena Olin as Rose Mather; Bruno Ganz as Professor Rohl; Jeanette Hain as Brigitte; Hannah Herzsprung as Julia; Karoline Herfurth as Marthe

About The Reader

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

More like The Reader

• Nuremberg
• Truth & Treason
• Shining Through
• The Aftermath
• Conspiracy
• Slaughterhouse-Five
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
• Bent

Figures and availability come from public TMDB data and are provided as a sourced reference.