Witness (1985)
directed by Peter Weir
starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubes, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover, Brent Jennings, Patti LuPone, Angus MacInnes, Frederick Rolf, Viggo Mortensen
|
MPAA rating: Studio: Paramount Pictures Script: William Kelley, Earl Wallace, Pamela Wallace Music: Maurice Jarre Running time: 112 minutes Tags: Amish; cows; guns; Lancaster County; murder; Pennsylvania; police; religion; Romance; Thriller; widows Tactical strength: [7/10]
|
Samuel Lapp (Lukas Haas), an 8-year-old Amish boy, witnesses the murder of a police officer in a restroom of the Philadelphia train station. John Book (Harrison Ford) questions the boy and his mother, Rachel (Kelly McGillis), and Samuel identifies a police officer, McFee (Danny Glover), as the killer. John only confides his supervisor, Chief Schaeffer (Josef Sommer). Later that night, McFee tries to kill John, but only wounds him. Knowing that McFee will also try to kill Samuel, John takes Rachel and the boy back to their farm. John tries to leave the farm but faints from loss of blood. The Lapps take care of John, and as John heals, he starts helping with farm chores and falling in love with Rachel. Of course, Schaeffer and McFee cannot rest until they can make sure no witnesses to the murder remain.
Witness creates good suspense and shows the contrasting culture of the Amish without making any judgements. The script lays on the religious symbolism quite thick: John (an apostle of Christ), Book (a synonym for the Bible), and John knows carpentry (Christ was the son of a carpenter). With this setup, you must expect that John Book will function as some sort of savior figure, but that savior figure also has romantic inclinations. The romance puts stress on Rachel's position in the Amish community, and the Amish antiviolece clashes with John's tendency to solve problems with his fists.
You can also find nonreligious symbolism. For example, when John arrives, his car crashes into the post supporting a large ornate birdhouse. The birdhouse could represent several things, including the Amish community or even Rachel. John's arrival disrupts both Rachel's household and the Amish community. While staying with the Lapps, John repairs the birdhoues, and just before John leaves, he puts the birdhouse back in the yard -- good as new. The repaired birdhouse thus represents the repaired Amish community or even Rachel's recovery from her recently deceased husband.
The soundtrack by Maurice Jarre often distracted me from the storyline. Instead of Jarre's traditional orchestral scores, he used mostly synthesizers. The resulting music sounds more like Jean-Michel, Maurice's son, or Vangelis. In fact, the music in several places brought memories of Blade Runner. The synthesizer music stands in stark contrast to the traditional scenes of the Amish farming and raising a barn. The soundtrack somewhat dates the film, otherwise, the action and themes could take place as easily in the current decade.
Related Items from Amazon.com
  VHS [Full screen] |   VHS [Widescreen] |   Soundtrack |
