The Statement
The Statement is a 2003 drama thriller film directed and produced by Norman Jewison, from a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, based on the 1996 novel by Brian Moore. It stars Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates, William Hutt, John Neville and Charlotte Rampling.
Plot
Pierre Brossard, a French Nazi collaborator, orders seven Jews executed during World War II. Some 40 years later, he is pursued by David Manenbaum, a hitman who is under orders to kill Brossard and leave a printed statement on his body proclaiming the assassination was vengeance for the Jews executed in 1944. Brossard kills Manenbaum, hiding the dead body after finding the statement and discovering that his pursuer was travelling on a Canadian passport. Brossard for years has taken refuge in sanctuaries in southern France within the Traditionalist Catholic community, appealing to long-time allies who have operated in great secrecy to shield him and provide him with funds. But now they bring increased scrutiny to themselves for continuing to do so.