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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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7

Winslet's Oscar Bid Battered by Nazi Furor

'Nazi porn' asks use to 'empathize with mass murderer'

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(Newser) – Mounting criticism of The Reader as an apologia for the Nazis is seriously undermining Kate Winslet's chances for an Oscar, reports the Telegraph. Critics have blasted the film as "Nazi porn," and the author of a book on Hitler charged in a recent article in Slate that it "asks us to empathize with an unrepentant mass murderer." Winslet plays an illiterate concentration camp guard who later seeks redemption by learning to read.

Critical comments are being circulated to board members who choose Oscar winners, according to an industry insider. "Kate Winslet is in a very tough fight with Meryl Streep for best actress," he added. "If people get put off The Reader, they've got an obvious place to go. This just might make the difference."

British actress Kate Winslet clutches her award for Best Leading Actress for her role in 'The Reader', at the British Academy Film Awards 2009 last week in London.
British actress Kate Winslet clutches her award for Best Leading Actress for her role in 'The Reader', at the British Academy Film Awards 2009 last week in London.   (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
British actress Kate Winslet arrives for the screening of 'The Reader' in Berlin earlier this month.
British actress Kate Winslet arrives for the screening of 'The Reader' in Berlin earlier this month.   (AP Photo/Herman J. Knippertz)
British actress Kate Winslet arrives for the screening of 'The Reader' at the Berlinale in Berlin, Germany, earlier this month. The film has been blasted as an apologia for Nazi Germany.
British actress Kate Winslet arrives for the screening of 'The Reader' at the Berlinale in Berlin, Germany, earlier this month. The film has been blasted as an apologia for Nazi Germany.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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7 comments
VIEWING:
 
sailor86
Feb 15, 09 8:52 AM CST
Okay, I'm worried. Reply
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eliizabeth
Feb 15, 09 9:04 AM CST
this seems to be wild over reaction to the movie. If anything it's the story of one person's failings as a human being. I don't think anyone will think of it as an apology for the Nazis. Reply
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markhebert42
Feb 15, 09 12:44 PM CST
She's way hot, Nazi movie or not. Reply
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KateFan
Feb 15, 09 4:34 PM CST
Hanna Schmitz is not up for the award, Kate Winslet is. And she immerses herself in the role of this tragic figure with stunning poignancy. "What would you have done?" Schmitz asks the questioner in court. Obviously, she helt the enormity of her guilt as she takes her last step in the film.... Reply
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anchower
Feb 15, 09 9:58 PM CST
So if she'd played, say, an Israeli fighter pilot who bombed the s--- out of a Gaza women's hospital, she'd be a lock? Reply
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