The Statement
The Statement
Dombey, France, 1944 – In line with Nazi commands, PIERRE BROSSARD (Michael Caine), a young officer in the Vichy Milice, gives the order for the execution of 7 Jews.
France, Present Day – DAVID MANDELBAUM (Matt Craven), 42, has been hired to kill a man he can identify only through an old photograph to be PIERRE BROSSARD. He is to leave a statement on the body citing this act as justice for the Jews of Dombey. He waits at a bar in the cote d'Azur, knowing that BROSSARD is due to arrive to pick-up a letter. Recognizing BROSSARD, he follows him out of the bar and then by car into the deserted hillside. When DAVID attempts to ambush him on the road to the Abbey de St Cros, the wily and quick BROSSARD manages to turn the tables and instead kills DAVID, disposing of the body by rolling the car over a cliff into a ravine. Shaken by the encounter, BROSSARD realizes that he must find new shelter immediately. Aside from being protected by elements within the church, Brossard has also been helped by a group of former Vichy colleagues. He turns to his Vichy contact, COMMISSAIRE VIONNET (Frank Finlay), for guidance.
Meanwhile, in the Palais de Justice in Paris, JUDGE ANNE MARIE LIVI (Tilda Swinton) opens her investigation of BROSSARD who has now been charged with crimes against humanity. ANNE MARIE explains to COLONEL ROUX (Jeremy Northam), whom she has enlisted to assist her, that they must be wary of everyone until they discover who has been sheltering BROSSARD for all these years. She also adds that she is determined to expose the church as an accomplice for providing BROSSARD with a safe haven.
Unbeknownst to ANNE MARIE, DAVID's failure means that another hit man – MICHAEL LEAVY (Noam Jenkins) – has been placed on BROSSARD's trail. MICHAEL's sole contact with his employers is through a man named POCHON (Ciaran Hinds) who gives him instructions.
Through various intercepts, ANNE MARIE and ROUX advance their investigation to the point where they now believe that BROSSARD has been hidden by a secret group within the church called the Chevaliers and that a vigilante Jewish organization is trying to assassinate BROSSARD.
ANNE MARIE's diligence catches the attention of high government officials and she is called in to see MINISTER BERTIER (Alan Bates), an old family friend who nevertheless warns her against pursuing this matter. He threatens her with dire consequences. But ANNE MARIE LIVI is not so easily deterred.
ROUX visits BROSSARD's confessor and champion CARDINAL LE MOYNE (William Hutt) to whom just hours previously BROSSARD admitted his culpability in DAVID's death. ROUX is unable to extract information from LE MOYNE because LE MOYNE defends BROSSARD as a man who once erred but has since become a repentant Christian.
As DAVID's body is discovered in the ravine near St Cros, ROUX heads to the region to gather evidence from the local police. ANNE MARIE, frustrated by the lack of answers, is determined to go public with BROSSARD's photograph – convinced that the press coverage will force him out into the open. In one sense she proves to be correct as BROSSARD is turned away from some religious houses that are worried both about the newspapers and the new directive from the Cardinal de Lyon forbidding anyone to help BROSSARD. In another sense, however, this exposure drives BROSSARD into deeper hiding.
France, Present Day – DAVID MANDELBAUM (Matt Craven), 42, has been hired to kill a man he can identify only through an old photograph to be PIERRE BROSSARD. He is to leave a statement on the body citing this act as justice for the Jews of Dombey. He waits at a bar in the cote d'Azur, knowing that BROSSARD is due to arrive to pick-up a letter. Recognizing BROSSARD, he follows him out of the bar and then by car into the deserted hillside. When DAVID attempts to ambush him on the road to the Abbey de St Cros, the wily and quick BROSSARD manages to turn the tables and instead kills DAVID, disposing of the body by rolling the car over a cliff into a ravine. Shaken by the encounter, BROSSARD realizes that he must find new shelter immediately. Aside from being protected by elements within the church, Brossard has also been helped by a group of former Vichy colleagues. He turns to his Vichy contact, COMMISSAIRE VIONNET (Frank Finlay), for guidance.
Meanwhile, in the Palais de Justice in Paris, JUDGE ANNE MARIE LIVI (Tilda Swinton) opens her investigation of BROSSARD who has now been charged with crimes against humanity. ANNE MARIE explains to COLONEL ROUX (Jeremy Northam), whom she has enlisted to assist her, that they must be wary of everyone until they discover who has been sheltering BROSSARD for all these years. She also adds that she is determined to expose the church as an accomplice for providing BROSSARD with a safe haven.
Unbeknownst to ANNE MARIE, DAVID's failure means that another hit man – MICHAEL LEAVY (Noam Jenkins) – has been placed on BROSSARD's trail. MICHAEL's sole contact with his employers is through a man named POCHON (Ciaran Hinds) who gives him instructions.
Through various intercepts, ANNE MARIE and ROUX advance their investigation to the point where they now believe that BROSSARD has been hidden by a secret group within the church called the Chevaliers and that a vigilante Jewish organization is trying to assassinate BROSSARD.
ANNE MARIE's diligence catches the attention of high government officials and she is called in to see MINISTER BERTIER (Alan Bates), an old family friend who nevertheless warns her against pursuing this matter. He threatens her with dire consequences. But ANNE MARIE LIVI is not so easily deterred.
ROUX visits BROSSARD's confessor and champion CARDINAL LE MOYNE (William Hutt) to whom just hours previously BROSSARD admitted his culpability in DAVID's death. ROUX is unable to extract information from LE MOYNE because LE MOYNE defends BROSSARD as a man who once erred but has since become a repentant Christian.
As DAVID's body is discovered in the ravine near St Cros, ROUX heads to the region to gather evidence from the local police. ANNE MARIE, frustrated by the lack of answers, is determined to go public with BROSSARD's photograph – convinced that the press coverage will force him out into the open. In one sense she proves to be correct as BROSSARD is turned away from some religious houses that are worried both about the newspapers and the new directive from the Cardinal de Lyon forbidding anyone to help BROSSARD. In another sense, however, this exposure drives BROSSARD into deeper hiding.
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