Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good, but could have been better
Review: Micheal Caine plays Pierre Brossard, who once massacred Jews under the Vichy regime in France. After living underground for more than forty years, with the help of a some friends and the Catholic order The Knights of Mary, Brossard is on the run again. He's running from the French government, which as once pardoned him but is now prosecuting him under a new 'crimes against humanity' law. He's also running from someone, perhaps a Jewish organization bent on revenge, trying to kill him.Micheal Caine and the other actors do an awesome job in this movie. The filmography is also quite good, as well as the pacing. On it's whole the movie was interesting, with the occasional small thrill. Unfortunately there were a couple of big holes, which never seem to quite get filled. Micheal Caine's character, Brossard, doesn't seem to have a definite bent. One moment he is a penitent old man, sorry for what he did in his misguided youth. Another, he is threatening his wife, informing her that she will do what he tells her or he will hurt her dog. A man that threatens his wife's dog just to push her into submission doesn't seem the type that would be too bothered by what he did over forty years ago. This inconsistency in character really sticks in the craw of the viewer. There are also problems with how the Catholics who help Brossard are portrayed. The director never seems inclinded to indicate their motivation. Are they a group of anti-Jewish clerics? Are they just old men who think that another old man has been pardoned and shouldn't be bothered anymore? Or are they just kindly priests who would shelter and protect anyone who was in need? The movie never seems to make up it's mind. These are somewhat large and disappointing holes in the plot of what should have been a really slick movie. I can only guess that the Brian Moore novel, from which this movie was adapted, gives more detail than what the director decided to include here. It's disappointing and I would have been more than willing to sit through a slightly longer movie in order not to have those sorts of holes show up.
Rating: 
Summary: Michael Caine is fantastic in a complex and challenging role
Review: Starring Michael Caine, this 2003 film is based on a real-life story of a Frenchman who conspired with the Nazis and then spent most of his life hiding in Roman Catholic monasteries. It opens with a chilling scene filmed in black and white of seven Jews being dragged from their homes and brutally murdered. Flash forward to 1992. The audience sees a "statement" being typed identifying this wanted man. It's supposed to be placed upon his body after he is murdered. But Michael Caine turns the tables on his stalker and murders the man who is after him. During the rest of the film, Caine is the hunted, but it is unclear who, exactly is after him. Is it the relatives of the Jews he murdered? Is it the corrupt French police? Is the Church? Or it a person in a high position who is concerned about his political future? Anyway, Caine is on the run. And Tilda Swinton cast as a judge, is trying to find him before he is murdered. The story is confusing. But the emotion is there. And Michael Caine, now 70 years old, does an incredible acting job. It's a difficult role, but he puts life into this unreformed but repentant Frenchman who keeps seeking absolution from priests as he goes about evading killers and doing some killing of his own. He is not a likeable character, but he's very human. One of the problems I had with the film was that even though it was about a Frenchman and takes place in France, everyone speaks English. But I guess the filmmaker had to make some sort of compromise in order to get Caine. There was one excellent scene between Caine and his ex-wife, played by Charlotte Rampling. Problem is that it wasn't fully developed enough. However, in spite of these noticeable flaws and the fact that the film moved a bit slowly, I was still captivated by his Caine's performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea, badly executed
Review: The idea for the story sounded great and I watched the movie with great expectations. It's very disappointing. The movie has a BBC TV detective series feel to it, with flat lighting, clumsy shots and antique props. While the Germans in the movie are speaking German, the French surprisingly all speak English with a British accent- and I am afraid also behave like it. While it might be better to settle on English rather than using fake French accents, the script does not give the star cast anything to work with. The characters are one dimensional: Michael Caine's war time criminal either pants, sobs or shoots someone, Tilda Swinton's judge chain smokes and barks at everyone. The movie is lengthy and does not build up any suspense. Plus the story does not convince why the police should finance the war criminal Brossard for 40 years rather than forget about him. I will.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Powerful Film Full of Intrigue, History, and Mystery
Review: THE STATEMENT has all the ingredients of a keenly written espionage film with all the added assets of superb acting, breakneck speed direction by Norman Jewison, and magnificent photography of France. Based on a true story, Pierre Brossard (Michael Caine in a finely nuanced tragic performance) worked with the Vichy regime during the Nazi occupation of France and was responsible for the murders of seven Jews in 1944. It is now 1992 and Brossard has been in hiding under the cover and support of the Chevaliers, a band of men connected with the Catholic Church. Politically he has been pardoned, but there are those who wish him dead. A new French Judge (Tilda Swinton in another fine performance) and military Colonel Roux (Jeremy Northam) join forces (somewhat unwillingly) and commit themselves to ferreting out Brossard. Their efforts are parallel to the forces who plot to assassinate Brossard and it is this bipolar cat-and-mouse intrigue that chases Brossard from Abbey to Abbey throughout France. The ending comes as somewhat of a surprise, but the chase makes it all worth the wait. Adding immensely to this film are the cameos by Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, Ciaran Hinds, Noam Jenkins, and Marr Cravens among a host of others. This is an underrated movie that is full of intrigue and deserves a wider audience, if for nothing else than to alert the world of yet another WW II atrocity.
Rating:
Summary: quite watchable, not bad at all actually
Review: this is a nicely done picture with french storyline and maybe too jewishly minded played by a bunch of british actors. you may also find it interesting and also quite watchable if you rent 'the quiet american' to see how michael caine aged and acted like a bottle of good wine. by watching him and looking in the mirror of myself (a not too good wine at first and then turned into a horrible sour vinegar), well, time really flies fast. he's still making a lot of money, and i, simply pathetically losing money of my small business like crazy, am just prospecting bankruptcy in the foreseeable future. a long sigh.......
Rating:
Summary: Gripping Thriller
Review: This is a very well acted, solid thriller with some exemplary performances by not least Michael Caine, and will certainly keep your attention for the just short of two hours running time. We follow an elderly Frenchman and former Nazi-sympathizer during WWII, finding himself the subject of a new investigation as it transpires that the Catholic Church and members of the government helped to hide him for more than 50 years, for his role in the death of Jews during WWII. The director cleverly tries to use the framework of this investigative thriller to mirror more contemporary political and moral issues but this all gets a little lost however, in the complex morass of Wartime France, Nazi's, and the Catholic Church. I think that mainstream American audiences may lack the curiosity, or historical understanding to take an interest in a political thriller that delves into so "foreign" a topic. That aside, it certainly stacks up against other movies of the genre, and though a lesser known new release, it's certainly worth a rental.
Rating:
Summary: A political thriller that could have been better than it is
Review: Unjustifiably slammed by most of the critics when it was released last year, Norman Jewison's The Statement, while having some problems, is still an eminently watchable political thriller. The movie does has some interesting things to say about the duplicity of the Catholic Church, but the problem is that it lacks any readily developed suspense, and the parade of British actors filling the roles of French characters ultimately distracts from the overall impact of the film.
The film starts out with a grainy, black and white flashback to World War 2 when the French were conspiring with the Nazi's to round up French Jews. Several men are viscously murdered by a firing squad. The film then switches to 1992 and follows the search for a Catholic zealot and former Vichy cop, Pierre Brossard (Michael Caine) who is now is wanted for these crimes against humanity. Brossard is mysteriously connected to a group of collaborationists anxious to keep their pasts in the shadows. Over the past forty years Brossard has come to depend on the kindness of strangers - in his case, a ring of right wing, anti-Semitic priests, abbots, bishops and cardinals in the Catholic Church. The church, which supported his wartime actions, has spent the past five decades providing him with places to hide, money and new identity papers so that he can move freely - to yet another monastery. They have also provided him with absolution.
But Brossard's actions have caught up with him and he is trying to escape from the clutches of the French authorities led by Anne Marie Livi (Tilda Swinton), a tough-minded, no nonsense investigative judge who needs to find Brossard in order to get to the bigwigs who have been supporting him all these years. Aiding Anne Marie is a dashing French military detective Col. Roux (Jeremy Northam - who is incidentally my favourite actor).
Brossard is a tired, conflicted but ruthless man who will not hesitate to kill with an assassin's glee, but he is plagued by catholic guilt and ill health. He can become a helpless mess at confession and absolutely melt in compliance when talking to his former commander (Frank Finley). Caine does a fine job at conveying Brossard's mixture of desperation and evil - there's one particular scene when he hides out at his wife's (Charlotte Rampling) apartment and maliciously threatens her dog. He is haunted by the murders he has committed and demands absolution from those whose secrets he protects. In his eyes, the murders are justified, and he talks to God with so much insistence that he begins to take on an almost saint-like aura.
The plot takes lots of somewhat murky twists as the viewer is left trying to figure out who is actually after Brossard besides the French police. There are lots of fervent, zealous but vague accusations against the Catholic Church as each monastery across France takes it in turns to hide him. All performers are good, especially Swinton who has a steely cold manner, and is unshakeable in the face of threats from her powerful ministerial uncle (played by Alan Bates). Northam, of course, is always a pleasure to watch and brings his usual dashing charm to the role.
More a character study on guilt and redemption than a sharp, crisp political thriller, The Statement is worth watching for the stunning French locales and Caine's strong, conflicted and nuanced performance as Brossard. Mike Leonard December 04.
Rating:
Summary: Strong "Statement"
Review: When dealing with a movie like "The Statement" it's important that somehow we find ourselves feeling empathy for the lead character despite whatever his flaws may be. This makes the movie much more passionate and personal. Now we are caught in a conflict. We see this terrible person, but yet, somehow, we feel sorry for him. For the most part Michael Caine does this in the film adaption of Brian Moore's novel about a Nazi spy who was been on the run for 40 years and now time has caught up with him as his days seem to be numbered due to an investigation being led by Annemarie Levi (Tilda Swinton). If I made this film I would have changed a lot about this movie. Granted I have not read the novel by Moore nor was I was familiar with these facts but I think a movie like this would have been better if it focused more on Caine life and offered more flashbacks. If we would see Caine reflecting on the past being haunted by his past. We do see these moments in the film, but not enough of them. The way "The Statement" was made was into a political thriller. Therefore we have more of a cop routine picture. Swinton and her partner Jeremy Notham do the chase scenes and the undercover work, and we may even sense a romance. These two characters are given just as much screentime as Caine, and that I feel is a mistake. Even though I say these things that does not mean I didn't appreciate this film, because I did. The acting from the cast is enjoyable to watch and keep your attention. Director Norman Jewison strings things together nicely. We are never bored with the movie. And the movie, even though I may not like the approach that was taken, is well written. The script is by Ronald Harwood who wrote "The Pianist". As I watched this movie I thought of a film made a while ago entitled "The Music Box". It starred Jessica Lang. It dealt with a similar idea but here "The Statement" approves upon it. Not a lot of people are going to see this movie. Not because it's a bad movie, it's not a bad movie at all, but people simply haven't heard of it. I remember when it came out it played in only one threatre here and I didn't even know when the release date was for vhs or dvd. This is unfortunate. This is really a well made well acted film that deserve a first chance. Bottom-line: Well made movie with some fince acting headed by Michael Caine. Has some strong moments and keeps you involved. More people should make an effort to see it.
Rating:
Summary: A Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Review: _The Statement_ is an odd political movie set in France that leaves one strangely sympathetic for the main character, an ex-Nazi, who is brutally hunted down like a dog by his former compatriots in the government. The movie sets a collection of right wing priests within the Catholic church ("the Chevaliers", probably supposed to be reminiscent of the real organization Opus Dei, so much decried by liberals) against the left wing forces represented by a female judge and her colonel friend, set on a mission to prosecute the ex-Nazi. Apparently for forty years, this individual has lived in hiding, moving from monastery to monastery seeking asylum from those who would hunt him down. He appears to be genuinely repentant, seems to have developed a strong sense of personal faith, and as one of his priest friends is to note in the movie, he may have joined up with the Vichy regime in France in an attempt to oppose the "antichrist of communism". By the time he has been found out, nothing more remains of him than a doddering old man, prone to heart palpitations. The rest of the movie consists of a rather perverse chase, involving one killing after another, in which the old man is made to run from priest to priest until eventually he runs out of options and is shot down dead by his former Nazi associates.
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