The Statement
Release Date:
December 12, 2003
Limited release
Another in the slate of likely Oscar contenders being released in December, The Statement focuses on a former Nazi collaborator, Pierre Brossard, who was an executioner for the Third Reich under the Vichy regime. Brossard has so far escaped both detection and punishment, and has lived a peaceful and quiet existence in France since the war.
But when his past comes to light, Brossard becomes the target of a war-crimes investigation. As if this wasn’t enough trouble for the aging Frenchman, someone has set assassins on his trail, bent on killing him before he can speak with investigators. But Brossard did not survive all those years by luck, and he uses his skills to outwit and outdistance his pursuers while trying to determine who has set him up and why.
The Statement boasts quite the stellar British cast, including Michael Caine as Brossard, John Neville and Alan Bates. With Norman Jewison at the helm, The Statement has all the hallmarks of a serious film just ripe for awards-season plucking. But awards nominations and grim subject matter do not box-office magic make, and one would expect this somber limited release to remain on the art-house circuit, albeit for a respectable length of time. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)
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