Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+
Literary adaptation tackles sex, shame, and guilt.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this mature drama revolves around the sexual relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a much older woman. There are extensive sex scenes, full-frontal nudity, and a real, raw sense of sensuality throughout the first half of the film. The woman is later revealed to be an ex-Nazi prison guard on trial for her actions during the war; this involves extensive discussion of Nazi Germany's crimes against Jews and other victims of the Holocaust. There's also lots of talk about heavy, complex topics like complicity, guilt, shame, forgiveness, and responsibility. It's worth noting that even with the story's powerful undercurrent of eroticism, the Bernhard Schlink book it's based on is a staple of German high school class reading.
- Families can talk about the controversy around the film's central relationship. Some commentators suggest that if the genders of the partners were reversed, their relationship would be seen as purely abusive and immoral. Do you agree?
- What messages is the movie sending about sex and relationships?
- Families can also discuss the film's central question: How can Germans
put Nazi crimes and the Holocaust into perspective in the present?
- How
is this movie similar to and different from other movies that deal with
those events/issues?
The good stuff
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Positive messages: Extensive discussion of the Holocaust; extensive discussion of German complicity and guilt during the Holocaust, as well as the nation's attempts to come to terms with the Nazi era in the post-war years. Discussions of morality versus legality.
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Positive role models: Hannah is a difficult character to place into a positive or negative box. Regardless, her actions have consequences and she is forced to face them.
What to watch for
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Violence: Some scuffling; a woman slaps a man. Depiction of a suicide. Discussion of prisoners burning to death while trapped inside a burning church, as well as the mass-murder mechanics of the Holocaust.
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Sex: Extensive depictions of sexual activity, with frequent sex scenes and images of male and female full-frontal nudity. The film revolves around a sexual relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a woman twice his age. That said, she doesn't force him into anything (or vice versa) -- the two consensually embark on their highly volatile, charged erotic relationship.
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Language: Some strong language, including "Nazi" and "whore."
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Consumerism: Some mention of brands like Siemens and BASF electronics, as well as books like Huckleberry Finn, Tintin, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and more.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Extensive smoking; characters also drink hard liquor and beer.