Witness is full of stark contrasts –rural vs. city, pacifism vs. violence, simplicity vs. sophistication –wrapped in a thriller and a love story that explores the power of faith in a community living the principals of their beliefs.

In his first Hollywood film, Australian director Peter Weir (Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, Mosquito Coast) tells the story of Samuel Lapp (Lukas Haas, in a riveting performance), a young Amish boy who witnesses a brutal murder in a Philadelphia train station on his first trip to the world outside his community. John Book (Harrison Ford), the police detective investigating the murder, discovers police corruption that threatens him and the Amish boy’s life. Hiding out at the family farm, living the simple life of the Amish, Book is forced to examine his life of violence and its consequences on society. While Witness has its share of action and comedic scenes, it is the beautifully nuanced yet doomed relationship between Book and Samuel’s mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis) that’s the heart of the story.

Weir’s direction, John Seale’s cinematography, and Maurice Jarre’s music make for a memorable film, but it is the haunting performance of Lukas Haas as the dark-eyed witness that holds your attention throughout the harrowing tale. Haas, now an accomplished adult actor, continues to play sympathetic and troubled characters, most recently in Swedish Auto, shot two years ago in Charlottesville and having its Virginia premier at this year’s Film Festival.