Defiance

Plot synopsis:
The movie starts off with archive black-and-white footage of the Nazi's atrocities on the Jews across Europe. The focus shifts to West Belarus, where Nazi SS soldiers, under the command of Bernicki, the Belarussian Police Captain, are busy "sanitizing" a village, killing half the people and abducting the rest. Zus Bielski (Liev Schreiber) and his brother, Asael (Jamie Bell), watch helplessly from the forest. Once the Germans have left, they run to the village and are devastated to find their father dead. They go to their house and find their youngest brother, Aron (George MacKay), cowering under the floorboards in the closet. They take him with them to the forest.In the Lipiczanska Forest, Zus tells a weeping Asael to get a hold of himself. As they sleep, their eldest brother, Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig), walks up to them and wakes them up. He first admonishes Asael for not being alert, then embraces him and Aron emotionally. Zus and Tuvia have a rather curt reunion. As they walk into the forest, Zus tells Tuvia that his wife and child are hiding in a village. At night, they discuss their options. The police are after them, however they are safe in the woods. They talk about Bernicki. A friend, Koscik has a gun which they can borrow. Next morning, Aron stumbles across some other Jewish refugees in the forest. He brings them back to his brothers. One of them is a young child, mortally wounded. Unfortunately, they can't save her. As her parents grieve, Zus tells Tuvia that they can't support these people. Tuvia says he'll ask Koscik for food and his pistol.In the nearby village, Konstanty 'Koscik' Kozlowski, their friend and a secret Jew-sympathizer, lets Tuvia inside and gives him food, drink and his pistol, with only 4 bullets. Seeing a police car coming towards the house, Koscik hides Tuvia in the barn, along with some other Jews. It's Bernicki and his sons, who Koscik welcomes warmly. Bernicki talks about his Jew-hunting exploits. Bernicki talks about having killed the Bielskis' father and is now after the sons. He tells Koscik to keep his eyes open and leaves. After they're gone, Koscik gives Tuvia food and drink and asks him to take the Jews from his barn. Tuvia confirms that Bernicki and his sons were responsible for his parent's deaths. He then takes the other Jews and goes into the forest.As they walk into the forest, one of the Jews, an elderly man named Shamon Haretz, Tuvia's old school-teacher, talks to him about his experiences. Tuvia brushes him off. At the campsite, the food is being passed around, with each person taking a small morsel so the others can have some. Zus is upset that Tuvia brought more mouths to feed. Tuvia tells him that it was Bernicki who killed their parents. That night, he goes to Bernicki's house, where he is having dinner with his wife and two sons. Tuvia bursts inside and holds them at gunpoint. He asks them if he knows who he is and why he's there. Terrified, Bernicki says he did as ordered. Tuvia orders him to his knees. Bernicki's sons jump up to their father's aid, but Tuvia shoots them dead. He then shoots Bernicki dead. Bernicki's hysterical wife pleads with Tuvia to kill her as well. Leaving her alive and grief-stricken, he leaves.The next morning, Tuvia tells Zus he killed Bernicki and his sons. They decide to move deeper into the woods. Tuvia brings over more Jews, much to Zus' displeasure. One of them is Isaac Malbin (Mark Feuerstein). The refugees start building makeshift houses in the woods. After almost hitting Zus with a log, Isaac confesses that he's an intellectual, not a carpenter. A refugee introduces Tuvia to his "forest wife". Tuvia congratulates them, a bit unsurely. Just then, two men burst into the scene, one of them holding a rifle, while the other demands food. Zus gets confrontational, despite being unarmed. He dares the man to shoot him, a Jew. When the two hear that they are Jews, they say they're Peretz and Jacov, from Zus' village. Almost all the people in the village are dead, including Zus' wife and child. Zus is devastated and grieves for his wife and child. He starts to hit his head against a tree trunk, but Tuvia grabs him and holds him, while he cries.Later, Peretz asks which Otriad (armed brigade) they are. Asael replies the "Bielski Otriad". Peretz tells them that there is a Russian Otriad, which sabotages railways and kills Germans. Zus tells them, if they want to kill Germans, to follow him. Tuvia tries to dissuade him, but he's resolute. Reluctantly, Tuvia goes with the small group. They attack a town that supported the Nazis, killing a few people. They then attack a German motorcyclist, killing him and stripping him of his weapons. A German jeep comes down the road. The Bielskis hide along the road and wait. The jeep stops nearby seeing the fallen motorcycle. One of the Germans goes to the side of the road to relieve himself and does so right on Zus. Enraged, Zus stabs him to death, while the others attack the jeep. One tries to run, but gets gunned down by Asael. Zus picks up the machine gun of the guy he killed and unloads it on the jeep's occupants, killing them all. As they scour the jeep for weapons and food, a German truck comes down the road. Jacov is shot dead, while Peretz is injured. Asael takes to his heels, chased by German soldiers, while Zus and Tuvia take cover, watching helplessly as their brother sprints away, dodging German fire. They manage to shoot out the truck's spotlight, but find themselves outgunned. They have no choice but to retreat, leaving Asael to his fate.At the camp, Tuvia is furious at Zus. Food is dangerously low. Peretz is dead from his injuries. Shamon is upset that they didn't bring back any food. He quotes from the Talmud, saying that if they save a life, they must take responsibility for it. Suddenly, an armed man walks into the camp. Zus is irate that the man keeping watch didn't see him. He punches the man and says he should be killed, but Tuvia will have none of it. He's still angry at Zus and holds him responsible for Asael's fate. The man, Ben Zion Gulkowitz, tells Tuvia that he's from a village, where everyone was murdered, but he managed to escape. People start to cry and argue about their predicament. Tuvia yells out that they all have to live together or they'll all go against each other. He tells Zus that they can't go killing Germans and can't afford to lose more people. They will go to villages for food and take only what is offered to them. Their revenge is to live. They may be hunted like animals, but they won't become animals. If they should die, then it'll be as human beings.Tuvia, Zus and Ben Zion go to Koscik's house and find his body hanging from his barn. He's been beaten badly and has a sign "Jew Lover" hung around his neck. They dig a grave for him. Koscik's wife shows them a secret cellar under a haystack. They find Asael hiding there. They have a happy reunion. They find rifles hidden in the barn. They also find two Jewish ladies in the cellar. The older one is Bella and the younger one is Chaya. Zus is a bit taken in by Bella. At the campsite, Shamon and Isaac engage in an intellectual debate, as they work. Tuvia notices that Asael's shy interest in Chaya and encourages him to talk to her. He tells Asael to accompany Zus on the next expedition and to ensure that no one is killed.Zus, Asael and Ben Zion waylay a milkman, Kissely, on the road. They ask for his milk. He pleads that the Germans will kill him if he doesn't meet his quota. They only take half of his milk, but Zus also takes the man's coat. At the campsite, they are welcomed with glee. One of the men, Arkady Lubczanski, takes an interest in Chaya. He tries to force her to become his forest wife, but she declines politely. Ben Zion tells Tuvia that new refugees have arrived from Novogroduk. Bad news is, Tuvia's wife is dead. Though saddened, Tuvia maintains his composure. Bella goes to Zus and asks if she can be his forest wife, which he willingly accepts.Aron sees some Belarussian policemen and German soldiers, being led to the campsite by Kissely. He runs back to the camp to report. Tuvia orders that the people evacuate the camp immediately, while a few people remain behind to stave off the attackers. Once the refugees are relatively safe, Tuvia and the fighters take cover behind trees, overlooking a small rivulet. When the policemen and soldiers come to the rivulet, the partisans fire at them, injuring a few. The soldiers and Kissely take cover behind trees as well. They yell at each other. The leader of the soldiers tells them to hand over the Bielskis and the rest can go free. Tuvia asks the leader why he, a Belarussian, works for the Germans. Kissely yells out to survive, but Zus shoots him in the arm. The partisans shoot at the attackers, forcing them to retreat. When they're gone, Zus angrily tells Tuvia that he should have killed the milkman before and that it's his fault that they now have to relocate. The refugees walk past a field into another section of the woods.As Tuvia and Zus survey the woods, they are confronted by a group of Russian partisans. Tuvia tells them that they're from the Bielski Otriad and they want to see their commander. They are taken to the Russian partisans' camp, where they meet Viktor Panchenko, leader of the October Otriad. Panchenko accuses them of stealing from villages loyal to them. Tuvia responds that when they (October Otriad) take food, it is support, but when the Bielskis do it, it is stealing. He tells Panchenko that they fight a common enemy. Though he doesn't believe Jews can fight, Panchenko tells them to send him their best fighters.Back at the new campsite, the refugees are doing their best to set up a camp, before winter sets in. A new bunch of refugees is being escorted inside. One of them, Yitzchak Shulman, tells Tuvia that he is from the Baranovichi ghetto. The Germans will kill everyone if anyone is found missing. Chaya's parents are also inside the ghetto. She pleads with Asael to do something to get them out. Tuvia decides to go to the ghetto to save all the Jews inside from imminent massacre. Zus is skeptical. They argue for a while, culminating in a fistfight, which ends with Tuvia just about restraining himself from bashing Zus' head in with a rock. Tuvia walks away. Zus takes Ben Zion and some other fighters to the Russian partisan camp. Asael stays behind.Tuvia and Asael sneak into the Baranovichi ghetto and talk to the elders there, regarding their escape. The elders are incredulous that the Germans would kill all of them just like that. Tuvia promises to keep all of them safe in the woods. One by one, all the people in the ghetto agree to go to the woods, including Lilka Ticktin (Alexa Davalos). That night, under cover of darkness, Tuvia and Asael get the Jews out of the ghetto. When they reach the camp, they are asked to surrender their valuables, which can be traded for food and weapons. Chaya has a happy reunion with her parents. Isaac and Shamon ask about people who know useful trades, like carpentry. Tuvia gets on his horse and gives a speech. He says that everyone must work, women will learn to fight alongside men, pregnancies are forbidden. They will rebuild their lives.Bella encourages Asael to propose to Chaya. He does so awkwardly and she readily accepts. They are married just as winter starts. As this happens, the October Otriad, assisted by Zus and his fighters, attacks a German convoy, killing everyone on board. Panchenko is impressed by Zus' ruthlessness.Soon, winter sets in. Food supplies are low and people are cold and starving. Tuvia, left with no other choice, shoots his horse dead, so the people can eat. At suppertime, the lines get unruly as horse meat (though considered non-kosher) is served. Tuvia enters a cabin to warm himself and sees Lilka inside. She's on her way out for her first food mission. He gives her his coat and his pistol, just in case. Arkady comes in and pokes fun at Tuvia. A woman informs Tuvia about sickness that is spreading through the colony. Lilka, having got a sack of food, encounters a wolf on the way back. It attacks her, but she manages to kill it. She takes the wolf and the sack back to the camp. At the camp, the sickness is found to be typhus. The Russian partisans have ampicillin, but won't part with it.Tuvia goes to the Russian partisan camp to ask for ampicillin. Panchenko is strategising with Zus about a transmitter at Police HQ, which has caused them much trouble. That transmitter has to be silenced. Tuvia comes to Panchenko and asks for ampicillin. Panchenko refuses, but Tuvia insists. Zus calms the situation down, by suggesting they hit a police station and take out the transmitter there. Outside the police station, Zus sees that Tuvia's also been affected by typhus. He tells him to wait in the car, while he, Ben Zion and another man attack the station. The attack is a success - the transmitter is destroyed and the ampicillin is stolen - but Ben Zion and the other man die, while Zus is wounded. He and Tuvia drive back. Tuvia asks Zus to come back to the camp, but Zus declines.As the funerals for Ben Zion and the other man are underway, Tuvia sits in his cabin, coughing uncontrollably. The next day, Arkady demands more food from Chaya, during lunchtime. He tries to take more, but Asael pushes him away. They draw their knives and they are restrained by the others. Tuvia breaks it up and tells them, as punishment, Arkady and Asael get only half rations. He walks away, coughing. Asael confronts him regarding rumours about him being power-hungry and corrupt, and that he is no longer fit to lead them. The next day, during lunchtime, as Tuvia sits coughing badly in his cabin, Arkady has pretty much taken over. He and his cronies have beaten up Asael and have taken the lion's share of food rations for themselves. Tuvia, hearing all this, steels himself and gets up. He walks outside and sees Arkady and his cronies sitting at a table, being served by Chaya. Tuvia sees Asael's bruised face and confronts Arkady. Arkady tells him it's the new policy that fighters get better food. Tuvia is no longer the leader. As Arkady laughs derisively, Tuvia shoots him dead. He orders the cronies to obey him. Anyone who wants to leave can do so. No one argues and he's the leader again.He gets better under Lilka's care. Soon, the sun comes out and it's springtime. The ice melts and spirits are lifted considerably. One of the women, Tamara, reveals to Lilka that she's pregnant and the baby could come anytime soon. She is terrified of what Tuvia would do when he finds out. Lilka comforts her, saying he'll understand. Tamara tells her that she was raped by a German soldier. When the baby is born, Tuvia hears the cries and finds it in a cabin with Lilka and other women. He is angry and confronts Lilka about it. He wants Tamara and the father to leave, but Lilka tells him Tamara was raped. She reminds him of his own words - to not become animals. He agrees. Happily, she kisses him. They share a passionate kiss.Aron sees a German convoy passing by. Back at the camp, the lone surviving soldier of a partisan raid is dragged into camp. The terrified German is paraded before the partisans. They've also found a pouch containing information about an attack on the camp in two days. The German pleads for his life, saying he has a wife and kids. That just enrages the partisans even more, as they've lost everything. They proceed to beat the German to death. While Shamon and Isaac try to stop them, Tuvia watches indifferently.The next day, Panchenko tells Zus that they're leaving the forest as the Germans are going to attack. The Bielski partisans will be sacrificed to the Russian partisans can escape. Zus is upset and tries to protest, but Panchenko says that if he tries to desert, he'll be shot.At the Bielski camp, they notice a German scout plane overhead. Tuvia orders everyone to evacuate the camp. Just as the people start to evacuate the camp, a couple of Luftwaffe planes fly towards them. Tuvia yells for everyone to take cover. The planes dive-bomb the camp, killing many. A bomb hits close to Tuvia, leaving him dazed and blinded for a while. Asael orders the fighters to arms, as German soldiers are expected to attack soon. The rest of the people are to evacuate. Tuvia is to lead the refugees away, while Asael stays back to fight. The Germans attack, killing all the fighters, except Asael, who manages to escape barely. However, they managed to stave off the Germans long enough for the refugees to make good their escape.Tuvia and the refugees come up on a large marshland. Unsure of whether Asael is alive or not, Tuvia finds himself unable to decide whether to stay or go. Asael runs up and tells them that the troops are behind them. They should cross the marsh if they are to survive. Gathering rope and everyone's belt, they make a long enough chain, so they can go through the marsh. They start to wade through the muddy water warily. Soon, they make it to the other side of the woods. Shamon, however, is in bad shape. He thanks Tuvia for having saved them and thanks God. He dies shortly after.Suddenly, they find themselves being attacked by a tank and a company of German troops. In the ensuing battle, a number of partisans are killed. Tuvia takes Isaac and they flank around to the rear of the attackers. They kill a machine gun squad and commandeer the machine gun, opening fire on the troops, killing many. However, they are discovered and the tank starts to slowly turn its turret towards them, as the troops fire at them. As the turret stops, they abandon the machine gun and take cover behind the trees, as the Germans fire incessantly at them. Isaac grabs hold of a potato-masher grenade, arms it, looks one last time at Tuvia and runs towards the tank. However, he doesn't get more than twenty yards, as he's shot dead by the troops. The grenade blows up near him. Just as things look really bad for Tuvia, the Germans are ambushed from behind by Zus' men. After killing many Germans, Zus jumps on the tank, killing the gunner and throwing in a grenade. The tank implodes. The partisans complete cleaning up the remaining Germans. Tuvia comes out of cover and orders everyone into the forest. They strip the dead of their weapons. Zus and Bella reunite. Tuvia and Zus, after a long wordless encounter, embrace each other emotionally, as Asael watches with a smile. They all walk into the woods.We are informed that they lived in the forest for two years. Their number grew to 1200. Asael died in action and never saw his and Chaya's child. Zus and Tuvia emigrated to New York and started a trucking business. Tuvia and Lilka remained married for the rest of their lives. The Bielskis never sought recognition for their actions.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence

Review:
Daniel Craig and Live Schreiber are terrific as Tuvia and Zus Bielski, who lead a band of Jewish forest partisans during World War Two, thus saying over a thousand lives.The movie is not perfect.
Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski in the true WWII story of three Jewish brothers who hid in the Belorussian forests and built a community of partisan fighters, saving over 1200 Jews by war's end.Liev Schreiber (Zus Bielski) and Jamie Bell (Asael Bielski) star alongside Craig as his two younger brothers.
I can't wait for the release (which appears to be some time this winter) in order to see it again.It's a superb film with a nice balance of heavy hitting action and intense drama, but if that's not enough to make you want to see it, just the fact that these on screen heroes existed in real life definitely make it worth the watch.This is a WWII movie that doesn't hide or glamorize war but shows the intense reality of what happens when people band together against overwhelming evil and survive.
I'm biased, though -- I read the Peter Duffy book "Bielski Brothers" soon after it was released ("Defiance" is based on a different book), and I found the real story even more compelling than the Hollywood version.Nonetheless, I live in the real world where directors have to shoot on a budget, and this was a good, diverting peek into a story that was long overdue to be told..
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.
In fact, it's a story about hundreds of Jews who fight for survival as free men and women in the dense and expansive forests of Nazi-occupied Poland.Daniel Craig gives perhaps one of his best performances as Tuvia Bielski, the eldest of four Jewish brothers and the eventual leader of the Bielski partisans.
Set during the winter of 1941-42, just after Nazi Germany has attacked the Soviet Union, the movie follows the exploits of the 3 Bielski brothers, who watched their father be murdered by German troops and escape into the forest, only to end up becoming a rallying point and leaders for other displaced Jews.
Although I'm not a religious type and know little of any details from the stories of the bible, the parallels this old-fashioned adventure story draws with Moses leading the chosen are unmistakable (although the events depicted here - based on fact, apparently - are on an undeniably smaller scale: instead of a parting of the Red Sea we get a wade through marshland).Such lofty aspirations leave Ed Zwick's film open to questions about the wisdom of such a decision at best, and ridicule at worst.
Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber give a good account of themselves as the brothers who find themselves leading a band of Jewish refugees from the Nazis, but the complexities of their relationship are only touched upon, meaning that key moments such as Zus's decision to join the Russian partisans seem to come out of the blue, with no accumulation of incidents to justify his choice.Most other characters, other than Jamie Bell as the youngest brother, are genre stereotypes: the Jewish teacher, the Jewish intellectual, the stern Russian commander, etc, which lends the entire thing a 'by the numbers' feel that means the audience is never as involved in the refugee's plight as they ought to be.
Defiance (2008) tells the story of the Bielski brothers who constructed a community of their own in the Belarussian forests during the Second World War and fought against Nazi Germans in the process.
He seems to do the same movie over and over again; The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006) and Defiance feel very much the same when it comes down to the theme and nature of the stories and the films.
It's good to finally see a film about Jewish fighters, but aside from a few action sequences featuring Liev Schreiber, this film is more than lame  it is an affront to all those brave Partisans, who lived through this nightmare.Viewers who are interested in seeing a true representation of what it was like to slog through the marches should rent the Russian film, COME & SEE which presented this sequence in real time (this sequence is also on Youtube).
(Tom cruise sends all the Samurais to fight, and whos the only person who survives, Tom Cruise, I mean wow, who writes this garbage)" Zwick puts ridiculous actions scenes and very unrealistic dialogue in all his so called "historical" films and Defiance is no different.
And saying platitudes such as “Our vengeance is to live" and "Every day of freedom is like an act of faith" while gazing at the camera with those, just give me an Oscar and I will go back to entertaining you, baby blues doesn't help his cause either.Problem number Two is best summarized by one of my favorite ladies I don't think we really need another film about the Holocaust, do we?
Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber, who played Jewish brothers ("Tuvia and Zus Bielski," respectively) with different outlooks on how to survive and/or fight the Nazis, were riveting.
Things I considered brilliant were the film opening and ending; the musical score; overall cinematography; the quick edits back and forth between forest community life and war scenes.I felt Daniel Craig & Liev Schreiber did an outstanding job with the accents and actually speaking Russian.
Craig was, instead, a casting mistake in more ways than one: no WAY could he pass as Schreiber's brother--I know the real Tuvia was supposed to look more white than the others, but I've seen his real photo, and not only did he resemble his brothers--he didn't look even CLOSE to Aryan!) Still, in spite of their commendable efforts to make the often-cheesy script work, the poor choice to make the Jews from Poland and Belarus speak horribly-accented English while the Russians and Germans spoke their native languages was a disaster and hurt the actors' credibility--I thought that the rule of thumb is that you choose one or the other if you don't want to make your film come off as false.Worse, there was some spectacularly bad acting/lines--almost classic TLC/Hallmark movie stuff...i.e. cheesy choruses of "I'll go." "Me too!" I'll go." "I will also go." Or: "I have a belt." "Me too!" "I have a belt, too." "Take my belt!" The screenwriters also failed many opportunities to develop the other characters, which almost all came off as two-dimensional and sometimes even fake.
The life experience of the main characters was depicted in a dark yet still somewhat sanitized way, and I think the film was fairly success in that respect with regards to immersing the viewer in this (allegedly true) story which beggars belief at times.However, there were some misguided attempts at light relief which fell flat, and as with most war-set stories the opposing sides were depicted as far too black and white, with the Germans portrayed as brutal, faceless killing machines.
Before I watched it, I knew it wasn't the most highly regarded film set during the Holocaust, and was criticized by some for historical inaccuracy (obviously), but after seeing it myself, I have to say I'm impressed.In World War II, as Jewish people in Eastern Europe are hunted down by the Nazis, the Bielski brothers manage to escape from a massacre.
Most of the cast put on steady performances, including Daniel Craig, which I was expecting, knowing he was a good actor after seeing him play James Bond.As I said, this film has faced criticism for historical inaccuracy, but before I read any of this criticism, I knew from experience that it obviously existed.
With Defiance which sets about to combine most elements from the director's previous works into a somewhat epic, somewhat dramatised account of a true story from the second World War, Zwick strives for greatness yet never achieves anything as such.
Remaining true to the script's realistic, gritty nature based upon actual events, Defiance will more than likely please those looking for a war movie with a little depth rather than vice versa—indeed, the excitement too often overshadows any emotions evoked by other segments within the movie, but only ever distractingly so.When the final credits roll, despite several moments of compelling character drama or action—despite the many stark and breath-taking images that Zwick inflicts upon you—despite such moments, Defiance can't quite escape the fact that it lacks any drive or momentum.
The Bielski family of three peasant Jewish brothers: Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell) are amongst the very few to withstand oppression forming their own brigade in the local forests - aimed at protecting and defending what is left of their kin.
Soon become almost folkloric heroes - Jews who fight, not just let themselves be slaughtered by the Nazi forces.Based on historical figures the story is far from meticulous, instead taking vast creative liberties, which - knowing the true history - seems almost a waste of a good story.
Such aspects are touched throughout, when severe choices must be made, and the Bielski brothers are sure to make them, a far cry from the more clear-cut actions of Arthur Schindler.In Poland the movie received some criticism for omitting the darker side of Bielski actions, inclusive of fighting Polish freedom militia, but honestly I had no issue with this (the 'russicized' English accents of characters and poor grammar of the tidbits of Russian were much more detrimental), as the brigade was portrayed perfectly as a self-serving and brutal unit devoted to saving those whom they protect, irrespective of external pain they bring.
The Four brothers and their defiance which spread like a wildfire and gave a whole bunch of fellow jews the will to survive against all odds, was wonderfully narrated.Daniel Craig as Tuvia was rugged, stern and inexplicably the most vital USP of the movie.
This movie gave me another of those interpretations - how true is it, I don't know, but the message in the beginning "A true story" made me watch this while trying to think how it could really have happened.I live not far from the location used in a film.
Edward Zwick depicted Jews that want revenge, can unite for better good, but can still be selfish in those beautiful forests.I loved the way film is directed - camera movement, strong personalities, hidden messages, and it was even long!
But surprisingly, Zwick manages to create a grim world here based on true events and characters  making it more than a little affecting  set in the claustrophobic forests, brought down to earth with swirling ideas about the price of survival in a time hardly worth living in.For all its over-the-top pitches, it is stupendously manipulative in how much effective pathos it wrings out of its leading men.
However, Zus Bielski (Liev Schreiber)  by far the most appealing character  chooses to fight back with the help of the scheming remnant Soviet Army, at times even letting his desire for continued vengeance obscure the idea of his identity in a period when that's all that is needed to be exterminated.At its most melancholic, "Defiance" asks questions of the deep paradoxes in being Jewish.
It's not my particular want to delve too deep into it as I'm really only interested in the film as an experience, what isn't in doubt is that these were real people, and these incidents happened, their legacy lives on and hooray to that I say.Defiance as a film relies more on its story than its actual people to deliver the goods, something director Edward Zwick has often been guilty of before.
The acting is solid and totally watchable, Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and the impressive Jamie Bell play the three fighting Bielski brothers, but here lays an itch of sorts.
Defiance is a good adaptation of a little known story of Jewish brothers hiding out in the Belorussian forests fighting Nazi's and their collaborators.
Starring Daniel Craig (taking a break in between Bond films), Liev Schreiber (so good to see him in something more substantial than Wolverine where he clearly looked like he hated that experience) and Jamie Bell as the fighting Bielski brothers.It's not a great film, as it is fairly predictable at spots and Daniel Craig generally playing one emotion for the majority of the film.
While it's true that many of the action sequences were embellished and the Bielski brothers weren't exactly model citizens, the inspiration for the story is beyond dispute: a group of Jewish refugees facing certain death choose to flee into the forests of Belarus, where many of them manage to survive the war.
As for the actors Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell did impressive performances for the roles of Bielski brothers, but criticized by their unconvincing Slavic accent.
Zus just wants to kill as many Germans as he can, but Tuvia insists that "living will be our revenge." These two have many tiresome parable-inflected arguments that play like bad knockoffs of the Talmudic debates Tony Kushner wrote for Munich.Meanwhile, the third brother, Asael (Jamie Bell), sheepishly stands off to the side, presumably wondering the same thing as the audience: What casting director in their right mind thought James Bond, Liev Schreiber and Billy Elliot could pass for brothers?
The only thing thats good about this movie is a different (true) story about the holocaust in which the Jews actually fight back..
"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.
Excellent and convincing in his role as Tuvia Bielski, the true story of a band of Polish Jews who defied and beat the Nazis in their determination to survive.
Struck with mounting losses of close family and friends the three eldest brothers played by Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell (as Tuvia, Zus and Asael respectively) band, reluctantly, with other refugees of the massacres and begin to form a small village deep within the forest.
I don't know all the history of these partisan groups, but I thought even though the film was clearly showing the Bielskis to be the heroes, it did make references to their revenge and brutality, showing this group were no innocent Robin Hood style characters (nor would you expect anyone who had witnessed the Nazi treatment of their people to be only full of love and kindness.) My problem with the plot is the supposed use of Ampicillin.
On the fringes of what is now Belarus in World War II after their family was slaughtered by Nazis and Polish collaborators in December 1941, the Jewish Bielski brothers fled to the forest and hid out there to fight Germans and the collaborators and save fellow Jews.
These are compromises that, despite lingering resistance to subtitles, seem more and more retro and naive.As Joshua Rothkopf points out, 'Defiance' is a far cry from "Holocaust hand-wringing" like 'Reader' and 'Striped Pajamas.' It's an example of the new "Hebrews-kicking-ass sub-genre" like Spielberg's 'Munich.' 'Defiance,' Rothkopf says, "is history made over into wish-fulfillment psychodrama, into 'Exodus.'" This is seen in the casting of high-profile bad-ass Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski, the Brigade's leader, and the way his brother Zus (Lief Schrieber) dances around mowing down legions with a machine gun like the mad Israeli comrade in the 1982 Lebanon war described in 'Waltz with Bashir.' The timing seems unfortunate, with the slaughter of Palestinians by Jews in Gaza that just took place.
He has found an extraordinary story about the Bielski brothers who, during the Holocaust, not only managed to evade capture by the S.S. but established a community for fugitive Jews in the woods of Belorussia.It is a great and inspiring tale, and yet Zwick manages to make a bit of a dud film out of it.
Defiance needs to be added to the list of powerful reminders that Jews defied the Nazis in numbers and spirit.Daniel Craig, effacing any overt images of James Bond, plays Tuvia Bielski, leader of a rag-tag group of survivors in the Belarussian forest for years, and two other brothers (Liv Schreiber and Jamie Bell), who revenge the slaughter of their family and help hapless Jews by building a village.
The brothers: Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig), Zus Bielski (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell) hide in the forest to escape the Germans.
Their varying methods and ways of going about the business of survival and revenge are the most significant thing to keep track of: one, Craig, wants to keep this community of Jewish refugees together and keep out of vengeance, another, Schreiber, wants only to get Nazi blood, and another, Bell, falls for the nice girl and becomes a leader later on in the film.Significant because, frankly, it's one of the only things in the picture that comes across with conviction and certainty that doesn't feel like a checklist (save, of course, for that "twist" ending where Zus comes to the aide of Tuvia that has been done in more movies than I can think of, however minorly rousing it is).
Defiance the movie starring Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell as 3 Jewish brothers in Belarus during World War 2 who start a rebellion against the Germans who come and invade their country.
This film is about three brothers leading a group of Jews to hide in the forest to escape from Germans in the World War II.Much of "Defiance" is about how the group of Jews with diverse backgrounds live together and survive the formidable hardships of the times.
See the movie, if you like compelling story, good actors at their best, exciting action, and above all, the truth; you will love defiance.