Defiance

This is an interesting film about a bunch of Jews commanded by the Bielski brothers taking the Belorussia forests to shelter themselves from Nazi criminals . It is completely set in the woods which it does some claustrophobic . Splendid acting by all-star-cast . Nicely photographed by Eduardo Serra in colorful palette . Emotive and sensitive musical score by the great composer James Newton Howard. This is a true story , worth telling and stunningly directed in old-style by Edward Zwick .

The picture is inspired on real events based on the novel titled ¨Defiance : The Balski partisans¨ , being well adapted by Clayton Frohman and Edward Zwick . The actual events are the followings : The Bielski group's partisan (three brothers finely performed by Daniel Craig , Liev Schriever , Jamie Bell) activities were aimed to hold the Jewish community together and fight against the Nazis and their collaborators, such as Belarusian volunteer policemen or local inhabitants who had betrayed or killed Jews. They also conducted sabotage missions . The Nazi regime offered a reward for assistance in the capture of Tuvia (Daniel Craig) Bielski, and in 1943, led major clearing operations against all partisan groups in the area. Some of these groups suffered major casualties, but the Bielski partisans fled safely to a more remote part of the forest , and continued to offer protection to the noncombatants among their band . The Bielski group would raid nearby villages and forcibly seize food ; on occasion peasants who refused to share their food with the partisans were the subject of violence and even murder. This caused hostility towards the partisans from peasants in the villages, though some would help the Jewish partisans.The Bielski partisans eventually became affiliated with Soviet organisations in the vicinity of the Naliboki Forest under Russian General (in the movie Panchenko is played by Ravil Isyanov). Several attempts by Soviet partisan commanders to absorb Bielski fighters into their units were resisted, such that the Jewish partisan group retained its integrity and remained under Tuvia Bielski's command. This allowed him to continue in his dedication to protect Jewish lives along with engaging in combat activity, but would also prove a problem later on . The Bielski partisan leaders split the group into two units, one named Ordzhonikidze, led by Zus (Liev Schreiber), and the other Kalinin, commanded by Tuvia (Daniel Craig). According to partisan documentation , Bielski fighters from both units killed a total of 381 enemy fighters , sometimes during joint actions with Soviet groups. 50 members of the group were killed. In the summer of 1944, when the Soviet counteroffensive began in Belarus and the area was taken over by the Soviets, the Kalinin unit , numbering 1,230 men, women and children, emerged from the forest and marched into Nowogrodek.Despite their previous collaboration with the Soviets, relations quickly worsened. The NKVD started interrogating the Bielski brothers about the rumours of loot they had reportedly collected during the war, and about their failure to "implement socialist ideals in the camp". Asael Bielski (Jamie Bell) was conscripted into the Soviet Red Army and fell in the Battle of Königsberg in 1945. The remaining brothers escaped Soviet-controlled lands, emigrating West. After the war, Tuvia Bielski returned to Poland, then emigrated to present-day Israel in 1945. Tuvia and Zus eventually settled in the United States. They operated a successful trucking business. When Tuvia died in 1987, he was buried in Long Island, NY, but a year later, at the urging of surviving partisans in Israel, he was exhumed and given a hero's funeral at the hillside graveyard in Jerusalem. His wife, Lilka (Alexa Davalos), was buried beside him in 2001 . None of the Bielskis ever sought any recognition or reward for their actions.

The movie was good. Not Zwick's best effort though and as for the acting it was Liev Schreiber that delivered the most. Every time I see Craig I see James Bond and that other guy, Jamie Bell, was barely even on screen. I'm guessing most of his scenes were cut out of the film to pave the way for more Craig screen time. The action set pieces were mostly impressive but the problem is, its over before you know it. But I can honestly say, it was impressive nonetheless. Its not brainless by any means, the movie has a profound and compelling story. One can only wonder how these filmmakers come up with more WWII movie ideas every year.

From a visual point of view, the movie looks absolutely beautiful. From the authentic weaponry and uniforms to the rich and colorful Lithuanian locations, Defiance may fall flat during some points throughout the film; as with every other black and white war movies that's been released, the Germans are depicted as war machines of death without remorse, if you can overlook these flaws I think it is an enjoyable film and in its entirety, Defiance is an overwhelming movie that doesn't glamorize the war but shows the intense reality behind it all. A must see for all war movie fans out there.

When I think of World War 2 films, I usually think of graphic war scenes, Holocaust themes, or military strategy. This film takes a completely different approach to the WW2 era, showing it from the point of view of a group of Jewish citizens trying to avoid capture and survive out in the woods.

For a basic plot summary, this film focuses on the two eldest Bielski brothers (Tuvia & Zus), who lead a band of fleeing Jews into the woods when the Germans begin to invade Eastern Europe. While out in the Belarussian forest, the Bielski boys must not only feed hungry mouths and keep away from the Germans, but also navigate through different political/military strategies and the shady Russian army (in which you never know who to trust).

This movie may not be an all-time classic, but it is a very solid WW2 tale told from a perspective I'm not accustomed to (and thus rather fresh). Being based on a true story, it is remarkable to consider the odds that the vagrant Jews faced just to survive each day, nonetheless maintain their freedom.

The two acting leads (Daniel Craig & Liev Schreiber) are very compelling, while none of the auxiliary cast are exceptionally bad. Though it is a bit slow in the beginning, by the end the plot/characters will really have you rooting for success.

Thus, I recommend this film to WW2 enthusiasts of all kind. If you don't expect a masterpiece, and are content with a good story from a new angle, you will enjoy this film very much.

I've registered here just to write that I'm amazed by some reviews pointing that Zwick was inaccurate or illiterate when making his film. And it's really amusing to read that 'partisans couldn't speak Russian because Naliboki was a Polish town'.

Naliboki is a town in the very center of present Belarus. It's a point were cultures mixed. For many centuries everybody here mastered at least 3 languages, and elder Belski spoke 6 of them: Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, Belarusian, Russian, German. It's not so impossible, I may assure you:)

Actually, Russian is appropriate only in episodes when Zus Belski talks to a Soviet partisans' commander - that guy was from Moscow. I'm pretty sure, that in reality Jews talked to their neighbors in Yiddish and got answers in Polish or Belarusian. As for Belskies, they where the only Jewish family in their village, so they should master Slavic languages perfectly.

As Nazi forces sweep through Eastern Europe in 1941 the Bielski brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) seek refuge in the deep forests on the border of Poland and Belorussia (Belarus). More and more desperate Jews join their ranks for common protection and to oppose the occupying Germans. How can they all survive in the woods during the next four years of war?

Released in 2008-2009, "Defiance" is a drama/war film that has a lot going for it: a story based on actual events, good actors, authentic locations (filmed in Lithuania, a mere 100 miles or so from the actual sites), effective cinematography and a quality score. I personally love survival-type films and "Defiance" fills the bill, although it's not great like, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992).

The filmmakers throw in all kinds of dynamic things to maintain the viewer's attention: Numerous gun battles, an airstrike and a tank, which are all faithful Hollywood-isms. It would've been better to simply focus on the characters and their gritty survival story. How about a deeper examination of individuals reduced to basic necessities? What about a study of people stripped of all civilized influences, struggling with the animalistic side of their psyche, as depicted in the excellent "Sands of the Kalahari" (1965)? How about the immaterial yet palpable bond of love which unites and gives life even in the worst possible conditions? There's some of this, of course, but I wanted it to go deeper, like in "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965).

One thought-provoking scene concerns a man seeking to join the ever-growing group in the woods wherein he is asked what he does in order to determine how best to utilize his skills. He ponders it a moment and replies that he's "an intellectual." There's of course little use for an intellectual in such a forest community. The region was largely agrarian and so the peasant-types were skilled in at least one practical area as farmers, craftsmen or laborers. But what use was an "intellectual"?

How many of us are intellectuals and would largely be useless in such a scenario? We'd learn new skills real quick, huh? So the picture works on a what-if level: How long will our present society endure as it is before many of us are forced to live primitively in the sticks? If that happens, I hope you're more than just "an intellectual."

"Defiance" is worthwhile if the survival-in-the-woods plot piques your interest. It's superior to the similar "Tears of the Sun" (2003), but IMHO not quite as good as "Hornet's Nest" (1970) and "Sands of the Kalahari," although it's not far off.

The movie runs 2 hours, 17 minutes.

GRADE: B/B-