The Silent Witness

The opening shots of a bleeding body might indicate a Pete Walker extravaganza. Not so: this is the film trade's nod to Easter, a serious investigation into the Holy Shroud of Turin, which contains a clear image of Christ's body and has been the subject of much study since it was found that the picture was a photographic negative (the effect of radiation? transfiguration?). The director unfortunately seems stylistically at sixes and sevens, including a bit of dramatic reconstruction here, a gaggle of talking heads there, a chunk of location scene-setting here, there and everywhere, and blending nothing together with ease. Compared to this, most TV documentaries resemble Bresson. Subsequent research has overtaken it anyway, which should put it out of its misery.