Power Story of Survival. "The Strong Will Take Care of the Weak"

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2009)

I tend to be a "loved it of not" type of movie viewer. It is hard for me to pick apart I movie I enjoyed enough to deduct points, and keep myself from rewarding good films with less than a 10. Such is the case with "Defiance". This film delivers on all of the important parts of film making. For my taste it all begins with story telling. A film can have everything else, yet be a failure in my eyes if there is not good story telling. I can forgive a low budget film if it tells a good story. "Defiance" tells a great story and then delivers on all other levels of film making. This is a heroic film about a small group of survivors overcoming the horror of war by banding together and helping each other survive. I too have brothers, of whom I am the eldest, and like the brothers Bielski, if forced to war, we would stick by each other's side in the fight for survival of good. "Defiance" takes the time to develop characters you can care about and then goes on to tell a compelling story about how a small group of people who were targeted as undeserving of life according to Nazi philosophy survive and keep their humanity intact until the war was finally over. The performances by the entire cast are convincing. The Cinematography was beautiful and the editing was effective both in scenes of conflict and scenes of tenderness. This film does require attention span as it starts slow, especially for viewers accustomed to high paced action, but if you take the patience to involve yourself in the film you will be rewarded with a great viewing experience that will reconfirm your belief that it is always possible to overcome adversity.