The Reader (2008)

*The Reader* (2008) delves into the complex and haunting story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz. Their passionate connection abruptly ends when Hanna disappears, only to resurface years later as a defendant in a harrowing war crimes trial. She is accused of unimaginable atrocities committed as a concentration camp guard during World War II. Michael, now a law student observing the trial, is the only one who pieces together a crucial, yet devastating, truth: Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing this fact at the expense of her freedom, as it has profound implications for her defense strategy and the perception of her guilt. While not a conventional detective story, *The Reader* earns its place among the best mystery movies through its profound exploration of an deeply enigmatic character and the unfolding of a central, agonizing secret. The film presents a multi-layered puzzle, not just of historical guilt, but of personal truth. Michael’s decades-long quest to understand Hanna—her choices, her silence, her motivations—forms the heart of its mystery. Viewers are drawn into the unraveling of Hanna's past and the gradual revelation of her deeply guarded illiteracy, which serves as a stunning, tragic twist that re-contextualizes every aspect of her behavior, both in her affair with Michael and her actions during the war. It's a mystery of character and a deeply moral dilemma, masterfully keeping the audience captivated as the layers of Hanna's life and her tragic secret are slowly, painfully unveiled.