The Statement (film)
| The Statement | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Norman Jewison |
| Produced by | Norman Jewison Robert Lantos |
| Screenplay by | Ronald Harwood |
| Based on |
The Statement by Brian Moore |
| Starring |
Michael Caine Tilda Swinton Jeremy Northam |
| Music by | Normand Corbeil |
| Cinematography | Kevin Jewison |
| Edited by | Andrew S. Eisen Stephen E. Rivkin |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
|
Release date
|
2003 |
|
Running time
|
120 minutes |
| Country | Canada France United Kingdom |
| Budget | $27 million |
| Box office | $765,637 |
The Statement is a 2003 drama film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Michael Caine. It is based on a 1996 novel by Brian Moore, with a screenplay written by Ronald Harwood.
The plot was inspired by the true story of Paul Touvier, a Vichy French police official, who was indicted after World War II for war crimes. In 1944, Touvier ordered the execution of seven Jews in retaliation for the 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.
It is the most recent film directed by Jewison.
Pierre Brossard (Michael Caine), a French Nazi collaborator, orders seven Jews executed during World War II. Some 40 years later, he is pursued by "David Manenbaum" (Matt Craven), a hitman who is under orders to kill Brossard and leave a printed 'Statement' on his body proclaiming the assassination was vengeance for the Jews executed in 1944. Brossard kills "Manenbaum," hiding the dead body after finding the printed "Statement" and discovering that his pursuer was travelling on a Canadian passport. Brossard for years has taken refuge in sanctuaries in southern France within the Traditionalist Catholic community, appealing to long-time allies who have operated in great secrecy to shield him and provide him with funds. But now they bring increased scrutiny to themselves for continuing to do so.
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