It was time to renew the passion of watching movies. The sinister look of Michael Caine on the cover of this DVD intrigued me to pick it up. So for this week, I selected The Statement (2003). The story of the movie is about frenchman Pierre Brossad (Michael Caine) who belongs to the Vichy police, without whom the Nazis could never have murdered some 77,000 Jews in France. Brossad himself is responsible for murdering 7 Jews in a daybreak assault in a village called Dombay. He manages to evade justice by absconding and remains undetected under the protection of the clergy. However, a team of Jewish hit-men supported by some individuals in the seats of power are on his trail to avenge the killing of their brethren, 44 years later. A ‘statement’ proclaiming the justice and the avenging of the death of the Jews would be left on his dead body. Judge Annemarie Livi (Tilda Swinton) and Colonel Roux (Jeremy Northam) are assigned the task of reviving the case against Brossad for crimes against humanity and bring him to justice. Clearly it’s now the case of who-gets-him-first – the bullet or the long arm of justice.
Caine in his interview had said that he’s never played a character he’s disliked so much and it proves in the portrayal. He’s displayed the cunningness of Brossad who always seems to cover his tracks, with the same aplomb as the sick individual who clenches his chest in pain while moving around and shooting his predators. The movie, is based on a novel by Brian Moore and inspired from a real life incident.
