Rating:
****/*****, or 8/10
Starring:
Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell
Directed
by Edward Zwick
USA:
Paramount Vantage, 2008
As far as
WW II/Holocaust movies go, Edward Zwick's Defiance is
basically the Spartacus version of the bunch, as opposed to
the likes of Schindler's List (which, if you want to further draw
comparisons with Roman epics of old, has more overtones of Quo
Vadis or The Robe, in which a man “in league with the
enemy” opens his eyes to the shameful horrors inflicted on the
minority and turns to their aid). The specific act of defiance this
movie revolves around is mere survival in a world where the Jewish
minority has been sentenced to death under the ruthless rule of the
German Third Reich during the occupation of Poland. As their parents
are murdered by the Nazis and their Polish lapdogs, the Bielski
brothers retreat into the primordial woods hellbent on revenge. As
they are confronted with growing numbers of Jewish refugees also
seeking shelter in the forest, the brothers find themselves divided
on which course of action to take as those in need of help name them
their leaders in the struggle for basic survival. What will it be:
vengeance at all costs, or the needs of the many over a personal
vendetta?
At the
heart of the movie is the ideological conflict between the three
brothers. The oldest, Tuvia (Daniel '007' Craig), unwittingly finds
himself given command over this group, which soon numbers in the
hundreds, and first and foremost aims to keep them safe as he feels
it is his moral responsibility, like it or not, to do so. His younger
brother, the hotheaded Zus (Liev Schreiber) instead feels attacking
their persecutors and killing as many Germans as possible takes
precedence, and as their rivalry deepens he leaves the camp to join
local Soviet resistance cells to do just that. Their younger
brothers, including Asael (Jamie Bell) opt to stick with Tuvia. As
the forest community grows, so does the risk of being discovered,
which soon leads to an all-out assault by the German forces which the
refugees have to fight off with little means at their disposal, nor
the help of Zus' band of partisans, who will not risk their lives to
save Jews. Can Tuvia save “his” people from annihilation, or will
the Bielski Jews be massacred despite all their efforts? Only a
reconciliation of the brothers seems like it might stay their doom.
Defiance
proves a chilling war epic (albeit on a smaller budget that most,
since this is a more confined movie in terms of characters and
locations) making ample use of the assembled talent in front and
behind of the camera. Not to mention appropriating the beautiful
forest environment to such great effect that it's not hard to
conceive of it as a character in itself: lush and warm in summer, but
unforgiving and uncompromising in the cold Polish winter, which is as
lethal as the human enemy. Against all odds, the community
flourishes, but the fear of being rooted out and brutally killed
persists. And Zwick doesn't flinch at showing that this new formed
society is far from idyllic, as hunger, disease and most of all,
basic human behavior, continue to threaten their survival.
A story
that focuses on the ordeals of man living with man through a period
of intense crisis is incomplete if it wouldn't address the issue of
man's darker side getting the better of him. Defiance too
tells of the strong in the group exploiting the weak, taking their
food, sexual integrity and if they resist, their lives. Tuvia soon
rises to the occasion of exorcising such immoral behavior from his
people by exacting 'zero tolerance' type punishment upon the
perpetrators. The Bielksi Jews are not living in a democracy and
freedom is still a rather abstract concept, but fortunately Tuvia
accepts a role of the benevolent leader who generally has his
people's best interest at heart, despite his continuing desire for
vengeance. Meanwhile, even among his new brothers in arms, Zus is
still an outsider because of his status as a Jew, despite being a
formidable fighter. Defiance isn't afraid to admit that
antisemitism wasn't limited to the Germans, as the Jews are shown to
also suffer under the hands of their Polish neighbours, offering a
less black and white view than simply stating 'Germans are bad and
all others are good'. As the Germans exploit the Polish population,
Poles exploit Jews and even among the refugees Jews are found
exploiting other Jews. Tuvia's main act of defiance is rising above
such base humanity for the greater good. It does at times make him
feel overly saint like, but when he unhesitatingly shoots
troublemakers amongst his own people, you know he's still as human as
the rest of them.
With
Defiance, Zwick once again proves himself a certified
craftsman of effective historical drama, the kind that encompasses a
fine mix of solid acting throughout (though not avoiding the use of
the occasional off-putting foreign accent), dynamic action and
thematic value, but for some reason just doesn't stick with you as
much as similar movies from better known directors tend to do.
Defiance is unmistakably an excellent film, but not in the
same league as similar entries in the Holocaust subgenre like
Schindler's List or The Pianist, movies with which it
cannot avoid comparison because of the subject matter. On the page it
all should work, and when watching the movie it does, but afterwards
Zwick's movies for some inexplicable reason just seem to slip from
mind somehow. Likewise, even though his films have been awarded their
fair share of Academy Award nominations, actual wins are few and far
between. Nevertheless, upon viewing Defiance defies all sense
of whatever shortcomings might plague Zwick's body of work to stand
out despite their undeniable quality.
