The Statement (2003)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Ronald Harwood (screenplay)
Brian Moore (novel)

Release Date:

27 February 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

At the end of World War II, many of those involved in war crimes were prosecuted. Some got away. Until now.

Plot:

Tale of a former Nazi executioner who becomes a target of hit men and Police investigators. |

Plot Keywords:

Police | Catholic Church | Typewriter | Murder | Vichy France

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Pierre Brossard
Tilda Swinton	...	Annemarie Livi
Jeremy Northam	...	Colonel Roux
Alan Bates	...	Armand Bertier
Charlotte Rampling	...	Nicole
John Neville	...	Old Man
Ciarán Hinds	...	Pochon
Frank Finlay	...	Commissaire Vionnet
William Hutt	...	Le Moyne
Matt Craven	...	David Manenbaum
Noam Jenkins	...	Michael Levy
Peter Wight	...	Inspector Cholet
Malcolm Sinclair	...	Cardinal of Lyon
Colin Salmon	...	Father Patrice
David de Keyser	...	Dom André (as David De Keyser)

Also Known As:

Crimes contre l'humanité (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

USA:120 min | Argentina:120 min

Country:

Canada | France | UK

Language:

English | German | Italian | Latin | French

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:16 | USA:R | UK:12A | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, Oise, France

Company:

Serendipity Point Films

Trivia:

Alan Bates' final theatrical film appearance.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the statement is shown being typed, the typist underlines the name Pierre Brossard except for the P. When it is shown completed, the name is underlined completely.

Movie Connections:

Features Only You (1994)

Soundtrack:

Frederica

Kudos to Jewison for an important, intelligent film. Someone I know who hadn't been to the cinema in decades saw The Statement last week and has had his faith in film restored by this movie.

Kudos to Jewison for an important, intelligent film. Someone I know who hadn't been to the cinema in decades saw The Statement last week and has had his faith in film restored by this movie.

I can't understand why newspaper critics focussed on the fact that French accents weren't used. I find that some directors, not this one, try to add in accents where they are not at all necessary. After all, the "real" characters merely spoke their language, and didn't have "foreign accents". As an English and French speaker, I find the use of accents in other films (that is, where the real character would not have spoken with a "foreign" accent, but in his or her own language) to be provincial at best and distracting at worst. The director is from Canada - as an intelligent person which we can assume he is based on his brilliant career, he would understand the importance of not adding in accents where they would not naturally have occurred.