The Statement (2003) Plot Summary Explained

David Manenbaum was hired to kill Brossard as an act of vengeance for the seven Jewish lives Brossard ordered executed in 1944 during World War II. The hit was specifically designed to leave behind a printed statement declaring the killing as retribution for the Holocaust victims.

• david manenbaum
• hitman
• vengeance
• 1944
• jewish execution
• revenge

Brossard successfully defended himself against Manenbaum, killing the hitman instead of becoming his victim. He then hid Manenbaum's body and discovered that his pursuer had been using a Canadian passport to track him down, revealing how Manenbaum had located Brossard after nearly four decades.

• manenbaum killed
• self-defense
• canadian passport
• hide body
• fugitive

Brossard was killed by his own handler, Pochon, who acted on orders from former government supporters who protected Brossard for decades. These conspirators feared that if Brossard were captured, he might expose them and their roles in shielding a Nazi collaborator.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows Brossard's allies growing increasingly anxious about the investigation, foreshadowing their betrayal.

• pochon
• handler
• betrayal
• government conspirators
• escape night
• assassinated

In a moment of desperation and vulnerability, Brossard visited his estranged wife Nicole, who worked as a maid in Marseille. Their reunion was fraught with tension and reluctance on her part, revealing the emotional toll his decades of hiding had taken on both of them and showing his isolation before his final attempt to escape.

• nicole
• estranged wife
• marseille
• reunion
• desperate visit

The title refers to the printed statement left behind by hitman David Manenbaum after his failed assassination attempt. The statement declared that Brossard's killing was intended as vengeance for the Jewish lives lost in 1944, framing the entire operation as an act of justice for Holocaust victims.

• the statement
• title meaning
• vengeance
• printed statement
• justification

After Brossard's death, Judge Livi and Colonel Roux traced the conspiracy protecting him to a high-ranking government official who had been a former wartime colleague of Brossard. This official was ultimately arrested on charges of treason for his role in the decades-long scheme to shield a Nazi collaborator.

• government official
• treason arrest
• conspiracy
• high-ranking
• colonel roux
• judge livi

Investigating Judge Annemarie Livi became deeply invested in the case despite lacking cooperation from official channels. She recognized that Manenbaum's murder had connects to unresolved inquiries into Brossard that had stalled for over 40 years, and she partnered with Colonel Roux to piece together the truth behind the conspiracy.

• annemarie livi
• investigating judge
• determination
• colonel roux
• investigation

Brossard found refuge among the Traditionalist Catholic community in southern France, where long-time allies, including priests and a powerful former wartime colleague, covertly protected him, supplied funds, and helped maintain his false identity for nearly four decades.

• traditionalist catholic
• southern france
• hidden
• allies
• priests
• protection
• funding

Brossard's allies, fearing that the relentless investigation by Livi and Roux would expose their roles in protecting him, orchestrated his elimination through his handler Pochon. They chose to kill Brossard rather than risk him being captured and potentially revealing their identities and complicity.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the timeline, Brossard's allies grow increasingly anxious about the investigation, showing their growing willingness to sacrifice him for their own protection.

• betrayal
• allies
• priests
• pochon
• conspiracy
• protection
• fear exposure

The timeline reveals that there had been unresolved inquiries into Brossard's wartime activities for over 40 years before the events of the film. These previous investigations had gone nowhere, blocked by the network of complicity that protected him, until Livi and Roux finally began making progress.

• previous inquiries
• 40 years
• unsolved
• investigations
• blocked
• complicity