Kate Winslet interview on the Reader

I hope I'm posting this in the correct area. It's not really about David but I thought this is a good interview. It is publised in the North Shore Tmes today.

One point in particular interests me. Since I'm technically at a German fan site, this question might reflect the cultural differences. At the heart of the Reader is a love story between a 15 year old boy and an older woman, here in the US Kate and Director Stephen Daldry were asked many times about this "child abuse" relationsihp. Bernard Schlink certainly didn't have an issue with it. In this interview, Kate Winslet, who is a British actress not American, also struggles to comprehend the child abuse accusation. How do most Germans view this?

Here's the interview:

British actress Kate Winslet stars in the new film The Reader, based on the best-selling, award-winning novel by German writer Bernhard Schlink. It is a story about truth and reconciliation, and an entire post-Holocaust generation of German people trying to come to terms with the horrific acts committed by their parents.

In January, she won the prestigious Best Supporting Actress award at the Golden Globes for her extraordinarily powerful performance.

Winslet plays Hanna Schmitz, first seen as a woman in her mid-thirties, embarking on a passionate, clandestine affair with Michael, a teenage boy (David Kross). Hanna keeps him in ignorance of the terrible deeds in her past life, and also guards a personal secret of which she is deeply ashamed. In later years, Michael encounters Hanna again in dramatic, highly charged circumstances – and learns startling truths about her.

The Reader also stars Ralph Fiennes, who plays Michael as an adult. It is directed by Stephen Daldry and is adapted for the screen by David Hare; the two men are reuniting for the first time since their collaboration on The Hours, for which they were both Oscar-nominated.

Q: Technically, this is a difficult role for any actor. How do you empathise or even understand such a character?KW: It was a real stretch, and I have absolutely no qualms in admitting that I was really frightened. I had to think long and hard: “Can I really do this? Am I good enough to play this part, to disappear into this woman? You never really know in advance whether you can or you can’t.
But I did know I was sufficiently brave enough and terrified enough of it—which is a good combination. Fear is a good thing, I think. It means you’re on your toes every day and stay very prepared.

Q: But even once you’ve got yourself prepared and ready, it’s still a very hard role.KW: It was, even aside from the nudity, and aside from aging 35 years. Those things really became incidental. Not to belittle them, because they come with their own challenges. But just playing this lonely, vulnerable woman, who has this terrible past and has had to survive for such a long time with this enormous lie - that was the thing I focused on.

Q: Obviously, because of Hanna’s notorious past, it’s easy to be judgmental about her.
KW: Exactly. I learned that people had decided who Hanna Schmitz is, what she was doing, thinking, whether she was in control or not. Weirdly, playing the character was a little bit the same. Stephen Daldry, David Hare, Ralph Fiennes, members of the crew, extras on the set – they all had an opinion. And they tended to assume that everyone shared their feelings about her.
So for me, hanging on to my idea of who she was, that was hard, and I had to be extremely private. I didn’t want to be challenged on it, nor did I want to question my instinct or get into big debates with people about her, because that would have caused me to defend her. I knew I couldn’t judge her. I didn’t necessarily have to love her. I had to understand her.
But that was the hardest part of playing her. She’s the hardest of all the roles I’ve played.

Q: What do you think are the major misconceptions about Hanna?
KW: The most shocking one to me is that she was in some way predatory towards that boy and used him. It baffles me how people can think how she is taking a young boy’s innocence away. I didn’t see him running to the corner of the room.
I think it’s one of the most striking things about the story: I saw it as a beautiful love story, an awakening not only for the boy but for her - almost more so for her because it means so much more. She’s a closed-off, lonely woman who has not been able to have close human contact. Living in such an awful, emotionless world has formed every decision she has made in her life, including becoming an SS guard.

Q: Still, it must be tricky as an actress, trying to find some empathy with a woman who was in the SS.
KW: Of course. And people are very quick to say ‘she was a Nazi, therefore of course she should go to prison.’ One can’t argue that yes, she contributed in a horrific way. I can’t begin to find a way to excuse those acts or sympathise. But my feeling about Hanna was that she didn’t believe she had a choice about doing what she did, and that was specific to her.

Q: Did you do a lot of research for this role?KW: I certainly did. I had to put myself in a place where I could absorb a lot of research material, public records and books about the Holocaust. And now I wish I’d never had to do it, because you can never undo it. You can’t unsee or unhear those things. I didn’t enjoy the research at all. There’s one image from a book of a mother and toddler (in a death camp) that I will never forget. And I wish I’d never seen it. Research is usually enjoyable, but this was horrific.

Q: Was making the film itself more enjoyable?
KW: It truly was. Hanna at first is 36, a little older than me, but then we see her again at age 68, so prosthetics were involved. I was so excited by the whole process because I’d never experienced it before in that way. It ended up being extremely collaborative.
Every day doing the aging involved seven hours in hair and make-up from 3.30 a.m.. I also had a body suit which weighed 15 pounds, just to give my body some gravity. To say it helped would be an understatement. It affected how I moved, in a good way. I did a lot of observing older people, how they stand up from a table, hold a cup, even the speed with which they turn their head.

Q: Seven hours with prosthetics before you even start acting - that makes for a gruelling schedule.KW: It was such a long day! Sometimes we worked for 12 hours, and by the end of the shoot, it was seven-day weeks. Plus the prosthetics takes an hour to get off. So I was almost hallucinating with tiredness. I was getting two and half hours sleep. I’d leave a light on because I couldn’t allow myself to go into a deep sleep.

Q: When did you first read the book?KW: I read the book five or six years ago on holiday. I read it in a day, which is unheard of for me. I couldn’t put it down. I was absolutely compelled by this story.
But never at any time did I say: ‘I would love to play Hanna.’ I was 27 at the time, I couldn’t imagine it. She was 36, so it seemed very distant from me.
Six years later, when Stephen wanted to talk to me about it, my first reaction was ‘oh no, not me, you’re wrong!’ Because I was still in the same frame of mind I was in six years earlier when I first read it. When I sat down and re-read the book, I realised I was now close to her in age.
But sometimes I think things happen at the right time. In those six years I got to play Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sarah Pierce in Little Children, April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road. I learned a lot about acting, broadened my range and figured out what things I can do as an actress. I was certainly far more ready to play Hanna. Not that it changed the fact I was terrified every day!

Q: How did you find working with Stephen Daldry?
KW: I really love Stephen. He’s a wonderful director. It was a great thing to feel so watched and supported. There was never a time on set when I didn’t feel his gaze, even if he was working on a monitor in the next room. This was a hard, troubling character to play, but I would always feel he was emotionally with me.

i'm not sure,but i think,the people which are interested in seeing this movie,had read the book before,so i think they don't see it as child abuse.i think the germans(and maybe mee too) are thinking more about the whole holocaust-guilt....

katkat schrieb:

i'm not sure,but i think,the people which are interested in seeing this movie,had read the book before

I haven't I will read it after I have seen it

"schäm dich"!!!!no,i think,nudity&sex in films isn't such a big theme like in america

katkat schrieb:

"schäm dich"!!!!no,i think,nudity&sex in films isn't such a big theme like in america

That's what I thought too. During the NY premiere promotion days back in December, the internet is flooded with reviews and interviews centered around nudity in this film and the under age issue (the young Michael is supposed to be only 15). I read somewhere that nudity from teen movie stars in Europe is common. No one gives a second thought. Is this true? David has a full frontal nudity in this film. That alone is a huge deal in the States. On top of that, he is only 18. An article claims that David has done more nudity in this one film than an average actor in his entire life!

Anyway, the age issue did not bother me at all when I saw the movie. Since I've become a huge fan of David after seeing "the Reader", I checked out pictures when he was roughly 15-16. I have to say I will have trouble picturing him at that tender age with Winslet's character Hanna. The fact that David is 17-18 when he shot the film indeed made a difference. When you are only a teeanger this 2 -3 years really does make a difference from physical appearance wise.

I gather none of the board memebers here have actually seen the film. I think this forum will get a lot busier after the film is released in Germany. Bit I wish I could find a place now to talk about "the Reader" in details!

well i think the full frontal nudity is a theme in germany too.(it would be exaggerated to say full-frontal &teenage-nudity in films is common),but we think:yes,it's a lot,but we're not thinking about the age of the viewers so much.it isn't r-rated here,is it in usa?

katkat schrieb:

well i think the full frontal nudity is a theme in germany too.(it would be exaggerated to say full-frontal &teenage-nudity in films is common),but we think:yes,it's a lot,but we're not thinking about the age of the viewers so much.it isn't r-rated here,is it in usa?

The film is rated R for nudity, sexual content and adult theme. The first third of the movie is filled with heated love making scenes and nudity. I wonder how it is going to be perceived in Germany. Will parents bring their teenage kids to see this movie? The book is an international best-seller. I suppose most people are not so bothered by the love affair between a 15-year old boy and a 36-year old woman.

I read from this board that David will attend one showing of the Reader in his home town. Gosh, imagine sitting in the theatre watching yourself naked on the screne among your friends or people you know growing up? He has to be pretty brave! But his acting is so superb in this movie. He indeed, in my humble opinion, carried this movie.

i guess this film will be rated in FSK 16, because of the nudity and the whole plot of this movie. and the novel is a book that's often read at school. so i think many school classes will be watch this film. also i think parents won't be take their 12-year old children in the reader. By the way it won't works in germany. It only works on movies that are rated in FSK 0, FSK 6 and FSK 12.

Selesnya schrieb:

i guess this film will be rated in FSK 16, because of the nudity and the whole plot of this movie. and the novel is a book that's often read at school. so i think many school classes will be watch this film. also i think parents won't be take their 12-year old children in the reader. By the way it won't works in germany. It only works on movies that are rated in FSK 0, FSK 6 and FSK 12.

I also read this book is a required reading in German schools. For what grade, age group? Judging from your post, I assume age 16 and up? But the irony of this is that 16 is the exact age the young Michael Berg was at when he had the affair with Hanna. I wonder how all the 16-year old might feel about this. Very interesting. Definitely a cultural difference.

Friends of mine read this book in the 12th grade. They were 17 or 18 years old.
In Germany we have several types of secondary schools. Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium. (Not to be confused with a gym.) The fact is 'The Reader' isn't a book what normal students of Hauptschule read. Because the most of them wouldn't understand the whole plot. Although I was only a Hauptschule-student. The understanding among the most real and high school students just as another is that the majority of primary school students. And here in Germany I think the whole Holocaust thing is more the main topic of this book ...

ok I hope I explained well, because my English is not the best.

i think your english is good.at my school the book isn't read at all.don't know why,but i know student from 16-19 who have read it.soo.as selesny said,here the holocaust-guilt thing is the more important,but i don't think the movie will be seen by 12 year olds,cos they simply don't understand the complexity(if this word exists)

Selesnya schrieb:

Friends of mine read this book in the 12th grade. They were 17 or 18 years old.
In Germany we have several types of secondary schools. Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium. (Not to be confused with a gym.) The fact is 'The Reader' isn't a book what normal students of Hauptschule read. Because the most of them wouldn't understand the whole plot. Although I was only a Hauptschule-student. The understanding among the most real and high school students just as another is that the majority of primary school students. And here in Germany I think the whole Holocaust thing is more the main topic of this book ...

ok I hope I explained well, because my English is not the best.

Selesnya,
Your English is very good. Thank you for explaining the German school system. It's interesting to learn that Holocaust is viewed as the main theme in Germany. The film makers and the stars like Kate and Ralph all view the film's main theme as one that explores the German guilt (a concept I didn't know existed until this movie). As a matter of fact, they insist that the movie is not about Holocause and that Holocuase is merely a backdrop of the story. Schlink masterfully used the complicated love story between Michael and Hanna as a literary vehicle to explore the national guilt theme. Further, the book as in the film does not provide any answer. I personally think that's the beauty of this book/movie. Human emtions are very complex. There is no one answer...

katkat schrieb:

i think your english is good.at my school the book isn't read at all.don't know why,but i know student from 16-19 who have read it.soo.as selesny said,here the holocaust-guilt thing is the more important,but i don't think the movie will be seen by 12 year olds,cos they simply don't understand the complexity(if this word exists)

Yes, complexity is a word.

wohoo fantastic,i just need to improve my english a little bit

genieinabottle schrieb:

Selesnya,
Your English is very good. Thank you for explaining the German school system. It's interesting to learn that Holocaust is viewed as the main theme in Germany. The film makers and the stars like Kate and Ralph all view the film's main theme as one that explores the German guilt (a concept I didn't know existed until this movie). As a matter of fact, they insist that the movie is not about Holocause and that Holocuase is merely a backdrop of the story. Schlink masterfully used the complicated love story between Michael and Hanna as a literary vehicle to explore the national guilt theme. Further, the book as in the film does not provide any answer. I personally think that's the beauty of this book/movie. Human emtions are very complex. There is no one answer...

from this point of view you're right ... i mean everybody who read this book make their own thoughts about the story. i did. for me it was very emotional to know how michael has everything experienced. all his experiences with hanna. and then his feelings when he saw her at the court after 8 years. This has touched me so much. For me, this book is one of the best books I've ever read. that is why I was so disappointed when I read "Homecoming" by Bernhard Schlink. For me, this story seemed just not as complex as "The Reader". "Reader" fascinates me. He created a great story on just 200 pages. and on 375 sites of "Homecoming" it doesn't works

katkat schrieb:

i don't know for how many hours i cried when hanna died

BITTE SPOILERS wenn du sowas schreibst

aaaaaaah,oh scheiße,da hab ich net aufgepasst.SORRY,echt jetz

Macht nix

Bei ZDA hat sich Leo "bisschen" verplappert

achso,naja trotzdem,ich pass demnächts auf