impressive

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2013)

I will take my cue from one of the reviews on this board by a man who clearly knows his history and say that "Defiance" was inspired by a true story. Apparently it's not totally accurate. Very few historical films are, because the writers have to take so much dramatic license.
The film stars Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber as the two oldest Bielski brothers, who are Polish Jews (although I think in the film they're Russians). Zus (Schreiber) and his little brother (Asael) watch in hiding as the Nazis go through West Belarus. They run to their parents' home, only to find them dead and the youngest brother Aaron (George MacKay) hiding. They all go into the Lipiczanska Forest and reconnect with the oldest, Tuvia (Daniel Craig). They know the forest very well.
Gradually their numbers grow as they find other Jews hiding. They have to steal food from farms, and when they kill Nazis who attack them, they steal their guns. They also blew up trains, with the aim of saving Jews. Twelve thousand of them survive, living in the forest for over two years.
Apparently during war crimes hearings, the Russians tried to blame the Bielski group for involvement in a massacre of Polish civilians conducted in Nalibok. However, investigation into the event turned up no evidence at all that the Bielskis were involved.
The group had to move from time to time but finally were able to set up a more robust and stable community.
Forgetting the inaccuracies and just looking at it as a story, it's a powerful one with tremendous acting by Craig, Schreiber, and the other actors. Directed by Edward Zwick, it moves at a good pace and is beautifully photographed. Though one can't really get the feeling of what it must have been like to leave your home and live in the woods, you were able to see that it was a tremendous hardship.
Very good film, a story of strength, hope, and survival.