Witness

Even though "Witness" is an old movie, 1985, it is still a good movie. It is the story of an Amish boy who with his mother where going to Maryland but where delayed at the train station. There the Amish boy, Samuel witness the murder of a cop. He gets questioned by Detective John Book (Harrison Ford) and tells John Book that the murderer is a decorated narcotics cop. Here John Book enters a world of corruption and greed and has to protect the kid. But he gets shot by one of the corrupt cops and stays in Amish country to get healed and hide. He now has to live by the ways of the Amish.

Harrison Ford gives one of his best performances as John Book. How he goes from city life to Amish life. He has to get adjusted to this new way of life until he figures something out. In the beginning he struggles getting adjusted whether it is doing chores for the Lapps who are sheltering him or their way of life in general. There are two cases where there is a clash between the Amish ways and his. When they all sit down at the table John makes a reference to a commercial at the table but nobody gets it because they have no t.v. Also when the Amish go into town a bunch a teenagers hassle the Amish and John goes to stand up to them and Eli Lapp tells him that it is not the Amish way but he says that it is his way. After a while though he gets accustomed to their way of life. He helps build a barn for newly weds. In Amish culture when someone is just married the whole community builds them a barn.



The boy Samuel (Lukas Haas) and his mother, Rachel (Kelly McGillis) play their parts very well. The director Peter Weir is amazing at cinematography. The establishing shot in the movie of the grass waving in the wind is amazing. He also does a good job showing the conflicts of John Book City views vs. Amish views, the good vs. evil, or the conflict with Rachel's Amish views vs. John Books way of life. He knows what to show and just how to show it. Also I liked how he had Harrison Ford doing carpenter work around the house and with the barn because in real life while Harrison Ford was starting up as an actor he would be a carpenter when he was not acting.

I will not ruin the ending for anyone but the end is very good and keeps the movie running smoothly and well. If you have not already seen the movie go rent it from blockbuster or netflix, it is definitely a movie you should see.