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THE STATEMENTCountry: Canada/France "Splendid performances ... riveting ... fascinating ... a pulse-quickenihg pace ... the tense twists and turns of a manhunt thriller." - The Hollywood Reporter
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| There is no pardon for crimes against humanity.
In 1940, as France fell to Germany in the Second World War, the Vichy government was installed under Marshal Petain. In 1943, a branch of that government called the Millice was created to carry out the orders of the Nazi occupiers. In the post war fallout, when the Millice were prosecuted as war criminals. Some fled, others rose to power. Michael Caine stars as Pierre Brossard, one of the Millice who, during his time in power coldly executed seven innocent Jews. Decades later, in modern France, he finds himself chased by several pursuers - the French authorities who wish to bring him to trial, and several assassins who seek vengeance for his war crimes. He has been harboured for years with the help of a right-wing element of the Catholic Church, and his old friends from the Vichy regime. A classic game of cat and mouse develops into a classic game of cat and mouse develops as Brossard desperately attempts to elude his pursuers, and avoid being brought to justice. A stellar cast that includes Tilda Swinton (THE DEEP END), Jeremy Northam (CYPHER), Charlotte Rainpling (SWIMMING POOL), and Allan Bates (HOLLYWOOD NORTH) brings this pot-boiler to life with stunning intensity. Jewsison further establishes his legend as a filmmaker by applying his considerable gifts to create a thrilling film about about betrayal, vengeance and the complications of justice. THE STATEMENT is an undeniably relevant film, as its rich themes continue to haunt a world at war. "Partly because of Caine and partly because of meticulous work by veteran director Norman Jewison, The Statement is a fiction done so effectively, it rings true -- even slick lines that may otherwise be rancid."- Howard Shapiro/ Philadelphia Inquirer |
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Canadian filmmaking legend Norman Jewison returns the
screen with the thrilling morality drama, THE STATEMENT.