In a year where Jewish-Christian relations will be severely tested by the impending release of Mel Gibson's The Passion (a film about the death of Christ with a reportedly vicious condemnation of Jews) a quieter film by hall of fame director Norman (Fiddler on the Roof, The Hurricane) Jewison dares to take the less popular route, and condemn Christianity for maltreatment of Jews.
During the Nazi campaign in Europe a young man named Pierre Brossard (played cleverly by Michael Caine) murders seven Jews by shooting them point blank in cold blood. In modern day France he is being hunted. Perhaps by Jewish Nazi hunters or perhaps by some other secretive, mysterious faction of Frenchmen, but most certainly by a regal, fireball of a Judge named Levy (superb Tilda Swinton providing a glimpse of what a real Jewish hero looks like).
With France being the poster child for European Jew hatred today, this film embodies an extra painful dose of uncomfortable relevance. The Statement is that rare, unassuming movie that has much to say and is so daring in its message that it is a wonder it has seen the light of day. It manages to get beyond the tall, protective stone walls of the church and reveals a terribly unfortunate subject.
This is a story that Jews must be exposed. Not only because we are living in a time where the spilling of Jewish blood is becoming increasingly reasonable, but because (as if there are thing left that shock us) this story is true.
Interview with Norman Jewison
Q: How did you decide to make a film on this particular subject?
A: I read Brian Moore's book and it fascinated me as a psychological thriller. I was engrossed in the book and absolutely shocked by the ending. I find that in book you were rooting for [Pierre] Brossard. Everyone always roots for the fugitive for some reason.
Q: What did you think of Brossard and how did you intend him to be portrayed?
A: He was a poor, sad, failed man. He was really small potatoes, a middle man Nazi. I disliked him but there is something in us that makes of feel for someone being pursued [while they are being chased]. I certainly didn't like him but you could empathize with his desperation.
Q: Was it hard to shop this script to the studios?
A: You're always concerned about getting a film made when it deals with religion. But Brian Moore [the author] is catholic yet he was very critical of the Catholic Church for sheltering Nazis like Brossard. There isn't a major studio that would touch this film. But money has no personality to me anyway and I was able to get this film made with an independent studio.
Q: Do you run into any problems with your portrayal of the Catholic Church?
A: For basically 40 years, 50 different church organizations were protecting him. But to the Catholic Church, communism was the major threat in Europe. They were godless and represented the anti-Christ. So, the church was sympathetic to the Nazis as defenders of Christianity, even if that wasn't really what they were.
This is not a political film, I did “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming” at the height of the Cold War [in 1966]. At that time, the Vice President of the United States had a private screening of the movie in Washington. I remember all the ambassadors came to the screening, except the Soviet Ambassador never showed up. After the movie, everyone laughed at the movie and its satire and they were talking about it and the issues it raised. I realized that at the time that [Soviet Premiere Nikita] Khrushchev was speaking against the United States at the United Nations and here is a film about d