The Reader (1988 film) explained

The Reader
Director:Michel Deville
Screenplay:Michel Deville
Rosalinde Deville
Producer:Rosalinde Deville
Starring:Miou-Miou
Régis Royer
María Casares
Patrick Chesnais
Marianne Denicourt
Cinematography:Dominique Le Rigoleur
Editing:Raymonde Guyot
Music:Ludwig van Beethoven
Distributor:Acteurs Auteurs Associés
Runtime:97 minutes
Country:France
Language:French

The Reader (French: '''La Lectrice''') is a 1988 French film directed by Michel Deville. The film won that year's Louis Delluc Prize, and was nominated for nine César Awards including Best Supporting Actor, won by Patrick Chesnais.

Plot

Constance is a young French woman dissatisfied with her mundane life but has a talent for reading stories to others. As the movie opens, she reads a book called La Lectrice to her boyfriend, in which the main character, a woman named Marie, reads literature to others for a living. She becomes engrossed in the book to the point that she begins imagining herself as Marie: Constance and Marie are played by Miou-Miou, and the movie weaves back and forth between their stories.

Marie embarks on her new profession with gusto. As she reads to her clients, all of whom are seeking a little more than the solace of literature, she works a fantastical transformation on them. Her clients include the widow of a Marxist general (María Casares), a nervous businessman (Patrick Chesnais), a retired magistrate, and a handicapped teenage boy. Soon the clients' friends and families become involved, as does her professor (Christian Blanc). The general's widow's maidservant and the boy's friends from school become affected by the readings, and Constance has an affair with the businessman. Books read include The Lover (by Marguerite Duras, read to the sexually frustrated businessman), and the works of Marquis de Sade (read to the judge and his libertine friends).

Cast

Awards and nominations

The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 61st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[2]

Music

The film features music by Ludwig van Beethoven. The music titles are uncredited, but the following musicians are credited: Jean-François Heisser (piano), Elisabeth Balmas (violin), Roland Pidoux (cello), Bruno Pasquier (viola), Michel Moraguès (flute) and Jacques Di Donato (clarinet).

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1989 Award Winners . 2016 . . 15 March 2017 .
  2. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences