The Reader · written by David Hare · 2008

Michael returns with flowers but cannot identify Hanna’s entry among numbered bells; workmen emerge from the yard.

Scene 13 of 196 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

Act oneAct two

Begins 5 min into a 1:21 film

The story so farBefore scene 13

As a law student, Michael sees Hanna, his former lover, on trial for war crimes and must face the secret that shaped their teenage relationship.

Scenes 1–6
In 1995, Michael prepares breakfast for Brigitte, then is alone in his apartment and looks out the window.
Scene 7
Hanna finds and comforts Michael while he is sick, creating their first connection.
Just before
Scene 10
At dinner, Michael’s family argues over his illness; he insists he needs no doctor, while his father refuses discussion.
Scene 11
A doctor diagnoses Michael with scarlet fever and orders months of isolation; his mother keeps his sister away.
Scene 12
Recovering in spring 1959, Michael tells Carla that a woman helped him and asks if she knows her address.
Scene 13
This scene

13EXT. BANHOFSTRASSE. DAY

MICHAEL is standing holding a small bunch of flowers. He is looking puzzled at a row of bells with numbers only. The woodyard is busy. WORKMEN come out of the building.