Witness

Not many thrillers allow their story to breath in such subtle and nuanced inhalations as “Witness.”  At its core, this movie is a crime thriller about John Book protecting an Amish boy who witnessed a murder, but it is so much more.  “Witness” is fish-out-of-water, love story that studies the effects of violence compared to pacifism and how the consequences can bring people together or push them apart.  This movie finds a way to hold tension while most of the movie takes place on a farm, far from danger, as we watch John Book fall for an Amish woman and wonder if he could ever truly be accepted by her community, or if he could give up his life in the city to stay.  Other than a couple weak story points, I think this movie excels at asking how violence affects our society.

Harrison Ford is fantastic as John Book, a detective from the violent streets of Philadelphia who must take shelter with the Amish to protect Samuel, an Amish boy who Book’s sole witness in a case against corrupt cops.  The movie follows as he slowly becomes quasi-accepted into the Amish culture, helping out on the farm and assisting in a barn raising, but he can never join their culture because of his nature.  He’s hard-nosed and street-wise and violence has been a part of his life.  Breathing underwater would be easier than becoming a part of the Amish.  While all of this is happening the corrupt cops are drawing closer, sharks in the water around the quaint Amish community where John takes refuge.  This leads to a final showdown when the corrupt cops find where John is staying.  They descend on the farm like a tornado on a trailer-park, and you believe John and his guns are the farm’s only protection, but the non-violent ways of the Amish save the day. 

This movie is quiet and sweet, filled with passion and tension and questions about the corruption of power and what that means about the men who use it.  Its release in 1985 garnered several awards for “Witness” including Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing, and I can see why.  “Witness” is as peaceful as the Amish with an undercurrent of danger that allows a subtle tension to permeate the story. 

4/5