The Statement (2003)

Directed by

Norman Jewison

Genre

drama film

Country

United Kingdom, France, Canada

Runtime

2h

Rated

12

Rating

5.7 of 10 from 80 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

An old man who ordered the execution of Jews during World War II has evaded justice for decades. As a new judge takes an interest in his case, his network of protectors starts to unravel.

slow-burntensegrimatmosphericsomberdeliberatecerebral

What happens

The Statement is a 2003 drama thriller film directed and produced by Norman Jewison, from a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, based on the 1996 novel by Brian Moore. It stars Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates, William Hutt, John Neville and Charlotte Rampling. The film is inspired by the true story of Paul Touvier, a Vichy French police official who was indicted after World War II for ordering the execution of seven Jews in retaliation for the French Resistance's assassination of Vichy France minister Philippe Henriot. For decades after the war, he escaped trial thanks to an intricate web of protection, which allegedly included senior members of the Roman Catholic priesthood. He was arrested in 1989 inside a Traditionalist Catholic priory in Nice and was convicted in 1994. He died in prison in 1996, at the age of 81. An international co-production of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, The Statement was released in Canada on December 12, 2003. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, though it won Best Overall Sound and Best Sound Editing at the 24th Genie Awards. The Statement is the last film by Jewison before his retirement and death in 2024. It was also Bates's final theatrical role before his death in the year of the film’s release. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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