Defiance
2008
**½
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay, Alexa Davalos, Allan Corduner, Mark Feuerstein, Tomas Arana, Mia Wasikowska, Iben Hjejle
When the German troops march into eastern Poland (present-day Belarus) in August 1941, a group of Jews, led by the Bielski brothers, hide in the nearby forest. They set up a camp and form a Jewish partisan group, but the two eldest brothers eventually clash on whether they should kill as many Nazis or save as many lives as they can. By the end of the war, more than 1,200 refugees survived. Edward Zwick, the king of issuetainment, takes this incredible fact-based survival story, smooths out the rough edges of history, and creates a gripping and easy-to-digest depiction of heroism. Amidst the horrors of war and starvation, he finds time for some exciting action set pieces and sweet forest-bound romance. There's even a candle-lit bedroom scene in the dugout. In this world, the Germans speak German, the Russians speaks Russian, and the Jews speak English with a generic Eastern European accent. These numerous authenticity issues niggled at my enjoyment and raised some totally irrelevant questions, such as how come Daniel Craig looks so well-groomed after months in the woods? Based on Nechama Tec's book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans.
