Figure 1.--A Philadelphia detective falls in love with an Amish woman and her peaceful way of life while protecting her son--8 year old Samuel (Lukas Haas). Samuel is the only witness to a violent crime. "Witness" is a well done movie with a fine little actor. The boy wears Amish clothing which is very accurately depicted.

"Witness" is based on the John Grisholm novel. A young, recently widowed Amish woman, Rachel Lapp, has brought her 8-year old son Samuel to Philadelphia for the first time. Samuel is beautifully played by Lukas Haas. I think it is his best film. A trip to a big city like Philadelphia is a a major evet for any young Anish boy. For Samuel it proves to be mych more than he expected. Samuel while in the washroom of the Philadelphia train station and thus by himself, sees two men viciously murder a third. The film stars Harrison Ford as John Book. He is a Philadelphia police detective investigating the murder. The murder victims turns out to be a under-cover policeman. A grop of crooked cops is involved with narcotics. Samuel is sole witness to a murder and Book's only evidence. And the case becomes complicated with Lukas identifies another cop as the killer. Three crooked cops set out to silence Samuel. Only Book can save him. Book realizes that people within the police department are involved. As a result, he is targeted himself and wounded. He escorts Rachel and Samuel back home and tries to hide Samuel in the Amish community while he recovers. In the process he falls in love with Samuel's mother and the peaceful way of Amish life. A well done movie with a fine little actor. The boy wears Amish clothing which is very accurately depicted. The Amish community clothing is very distinctive.

Created: 8:23 PM 6/8/2008
Last updated: 8:24 PM 6/8/2008