''The Last Witness'' is a

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Piotr Szkopiak based on a stage play by Paul Szambowski. The film stars

Alex Pettyfer Alexander Richard Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990) is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of '' Stormbreaker''. Pettyfer was nominat ...

Robert Więckiewicz Robert Więckiewicz (born 30 June 1967) is a Polish film and television actor from Nowa Ruda, Poland. He is a member of the European Film Academy. In 2013, he received Best Actor Award at the Chicago International Film Festival for his role in fil ...

Talulah Riley Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005''; Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015. (born 26 September 1985) is an English actress. She has appeared in films, including '' Pride & Prejudice'' ( ...

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

Will Thorp William Francis Thorp (born 21 June 1977) is an English actor. Early life Thorp attended St Augustine's Catholic College in Trowbridge. He studied at Bath College and joined Musical Youth Theatre Company. Thorp was also a member of the Nati ...

Henry Lloyd-Hughes Henry Alexander Lloyd-Hughes is an English actor. He is known for his roles in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005), '' Unrelated'' (2007), ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), '' Miliband of Brothers'' (2010), '' Weekender'' (2011), ' ...

and

Gwilym Lee Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Midsomer Murders'' (2013–2016), '' A Song for Jenny'' (2015), '' Jamestown'' (2017), '' Top End Wedding'' (2019), '' The Great'' (2020–2023), and for ...

. The film was released in Poland by Kino Świat on 156 screens on 11 May 2018, in the United States by

Momentum Pictures Momentum Pictures was a film distributor owned by Entertainment One, a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Prior to 2013, it was a brand of Canadian distributor Alliance Films used for its releases in the United Kingdom, and was one of the leading ...

on 29 May 2018 and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

beginning on 5 June 2018. It was released in the United Kingdom by Signature Entertainment on 17 August 2018. It won 44 festival awards and was screened at film festivals around the world including in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto & Sydney. The film deals with the impact of the political intrigue in the UK after the Second World War, surrounding the

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

of Polish servicemen and women in Russia.

Plot

A young, ambitious journalist risks love, career and ultimately his life to uncover the true identity of an Eastern European refugee and his connection to the British Government's collusion in the cover-up of the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

, one of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's most notorious crimes.

Cast

as Stephen Underwood *

as Michael Loboda *

as Jeanette Mitchell *

as Frank Hamilton *

as Colonel Janusz Pietrowski *

as Mason Mitchell * Piotr Stramowski as Andrzej Nowak *

as John Underwood *

Charles De'Ath Charles Lawrence De'Ath (; born 24 May 1968), also known as Charlie De'Ath, Charles De-Ath and Charles Death, is an English film and television actor. Early life De'Ath is the son of Wilfred De'Ath and was educated at Woolverstone Hall Scho ...

as the Police Sergeant * Luke de Woolfson as Thomas Derrick * Michael Byrne as the Coroner *

Anita Carey Anita Eileen Carey (16 April 1948 – 19 July 2023) was an English actress. She appeared in British television programmes from the 1970s, with her first notable appearances including roles in ''Beryl's Lot'', '' The History of Mr. Polly'' and '' ...

as Joan Caldercott * Holly Aston as Rose Miller * Pete Wayre as an RAF Sq. Leader & a patron in the pub

Release

''The Last Witness'' was released in Poland by Kino Świat on 11 May 2018, in the United States by

on 29 May 2018 and in the United Kingdom by Signature Entertainment on 17 August 2018.

References

External links

* *
Pop Culturalist Chats with The Last Witness’ Piotr Szkopiak

“Create your own style.” — Meet Piotr Szkopiak, writer/director of the WWII, based on a true story thriller The Last Witness

Cinephellas ''The Last Witness'' – Interview with Piotr Szkopiak

Culture Trip ''The Last Witness'' A Brooding British Thriller Probes the Katyn Massacre Cover-Up

why so blu? Encapsulated Movie ReviewsQuiet Earth Writer/Director Piotr Szkopiak on His 15 Year-Long Quest to Make THE LAST WITNESS [Interview]

Reel Talker INTERVIEW: FILMMAKER PIOTR SZKOPIAK
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Witness (2018 film), The 2018 films 2018 thriller films British thriller films Polish thriller films 2010s English-language films English-language Polish films 2010s British films English-language thriller films