Start the week with a film: The many ways of seeing in crime thriller 'Witness'

The American movie Witness (1985) will seem instantly familiar to Indian viewers. Dil Hai Ke Manta Nain (1991) nicked the innocent dance in the barn that turns serious. Dil Se (1998) borrowed the moment when a bathing woman, spied by a man, continues to soap herself while returning his gaze. The plot itself loosely inspired Malayalam cinema’s Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal (1986), which was remade in Hindi as Hatya (1988).

Though Peter Weir’s Witness inspired other films, few have captured its delicacy or feeling. Witness opens with gentle scenes that give little indication of the violence that is to follow. Members of a traditional Amish community gather to mourn the death of Rachel’s husband.

In this rural town, everybody dresses modestly and alike. They speak the German of their ancestors. They still use horse-drawn buggies for transport. The world beyond this time warp can be cruel, as Rachel’s son Samuel finds out.

Soon after the funeral, Rachel (Kelly McGillis) and Samuel (Lukas Haas) leave for a trip. Samuel is wonderstruck at the marvels of modernity, his eyes taking in everything he can, but also something he shouldn’t.

At the railway station, Samuel sees a police officer being murdered. The investigating detective John (Harrison Ford) questions Samuel, much to Rachel’s consternation. We Amish have nothing to do with your laws, she...

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