Witness Dot Points

Witness Dot Points

  • Submitted By: tenchy97
  • Date Submitted: 07/06/2009 1:06 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 442
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 948

Witness is a feature film directed by Peter Weir about a young Amish boy who is witness to a murder. Throughout the film it conveys many issues and themes revolving around the cultural differences between the two societies of the Amish and modern American people.

One of the main issues explored in this movie is the clash between two cultures which cannot co-exist comfortably.

The film gives the audience a chance to compare these two different levels of American society, the culture and world of the modern city and the culture and world of the Armish.

The audience is drawn into the culture clash when the key characters John Book and Rachel Lapp fall in love.

We are drawn in by the use of various techniques and because their relationship had an ordinary beginning as Rachel completely resented John Book for forcing the modern world on her.

Rachel's nursing of Book shows a developing relationship. This clash is highlighted by the use of music, various camera angles and camera shots and the narrative structure of the film.

The main themes of love and violence clearly emphasise the clash and lead the audience to the conclusion that the realistic world of the Amish and the violent modern world should remain separate.

Book and Rachel find that they are growing more and more attracted to each other, but both are aware that unless one of them is willing to leave behind their entire world, their love can never be.

The Characters of Witness are strong drawn images of people from two very different worlds and it is through these characters that the director Weir has chosen to show these differences between the two communities.

Samuel Lap is a young Amish boy who witnesses a murder in Philadelphia while travelling with his mother Rachel. The good cop, John Book must go with them into hiding when the killers come after them.

Book discovers that people within the police force were involved, and after being targeted himself and wounded he...

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