Witness (1985)

Directed by Peter Weir. Starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Jan Rubeš, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Alexander Godunov, Brent Jennings, Danny Glover, Patti Lupone. [R]

Amish boy (Haas) traveling through Philadelphia witnesses a murder in a train station, and when he fingers a member of the police department, he and the detective assigned to the case (Ford) find themselves in grave danger. Wounded, the detective ends up in the boy’s Amish community to hide out, where he finds himself drawn to the boy’s mother (McGillis). Absorbing drama folds together elements of culture clash, poignant romance, and violent thriller in a thoroughly satisfying package. Despite a number of implausibilities and no real surprises in the plotting (all the way to its High Noon-esque climax), the picture is skillfully made, sensitively acted, and exquisitely photographed by John Seale. Ford’s tactful work never hits a wrong note, earning him the only Oscar nomination of his career. Viggo Mortensen plays one of the Amish in a small role (he gets only one line, and it’s in German). Won Academy Awards for the screenplay by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace and Earl W. Wallace, and Thom Noble’s editing.

86/100