MovieChat Forums > Witness (1985) Discussion > Was Eli Rachel’s father or father-in-law...

Was Eli Rachel’s father or father-in-law?


Didn’t quite catch that.

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Father-in-law.

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I don't remember when it (if at all) was expressed, but I was always under the impression that Eli was Rachel's father-in-law as well.

Which begs a question: what happens to Eli when Rachel eventually marries Daniel Hochleitner?

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Lukas Hass' character's name was Samuel Lapp. It could only have been that if it were Rachel's married name hence Jan Rubes' character was named Eli Lapp. If Rachel had gotten pregnant with Samuel out of wedlock the "clan" would have told her to leave. That's why Eli cautioned Rachel against the "English" of John Book because if she fell in love with him, an outsider she'd have to leave. The Amish was all she knew and John Book (Harrison's character) knew that. As for if or when she married Daniel, she'd still be linked to Eli since Samuel would still be his grandson.

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Makes sense, that's probably why I assumed Eli was Rachel's father-in-law. I haven't seen this movie in many years.

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I'm thinking of seeing if it's available on demand. Seeing this thread got me interested in the film again. So off I go.

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I see there are 5 replies but none are appearing in this thread. ❓❓❓

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