In this 1985 film, the plot is set in motion when Samuel, a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel through the big city, witnesses a murder: Harrison Ford plays the police officer who has to deal with the case. Ford’s character, John Book, is a well-meaning maverick – I suppose it’s possible Harrison Ford played a different kind of character at some point in his career but no instances are occurring to me – who tries to wrap his investigation up quickly, but when the case turns complicated he tries to get Samuel and Rachel out of the way until things settle down, and ends up living with the Amish for a while himself. Things are all serene in Lancaster County, but the case is still open, and then the villains turn up again…
The movie is built around contrasts: city and country, pacifism and violence, independence (or is it loneliness?) and community – and of course Rachel as a pretty young widow faces tension between her Amish suitor Daniel and her attraction to John. The Amish countryside is portrayed as idyllic in this movie – even if they have to deal with tourists and local bullies – but then the train to Philadelphia and the station are shown to be impressive. The bits of Philadelphia shown are run-down and the police are overworked and none too particular in their methods, but John’s sister, a single mother, is as willing to take in strangers on short notice as the Amish are in accepting John living and working with them. We are meant to conclude, I think, that Rachel finds John maybe more attractive than Daniel individually – but Daniel is part of the Amish community and John, despite his willingness to work, does not quite fit in and would not be willing to stay. Violence is an intrusion on life, but the in the end John must use violence to protect the peaceful. (Although in the end – are the bad guys finally stopped because the rest of the police show up, or because too many witnesses, even if they don’t offer resistance, have gathered?)
The score by Maurice Jarre provides another contrast. While it sets off the picture magnificantly, for a film set mainly in Amish country, who would have thought to write music mainly (maybe entirely) for synthesizer? True, the style suggests organ or other sacred music at times – but from what I know I would guess the Amish use few or no instruments in their services.
While I can’t quite figure what earned Ford the Best Actor nomination, Witness is a beautifully made film and one I would recommend watching. The other stars were Kelly McGillis as Rachel and Lukas Haas as Samuel, though I also thought the best performance might have been Jan Rubes as Samuel’s grandfather Eli. Do be advised that, while I’m not sure they’d give it an R rating today, it does earn it: the violence is brief but disturbing, there’s a little bit of bad language in places, and one strictly gratuitous topless scene.
Romance of Victory 