DEFIANCE
“Defiance”, starring Daniel Craig and Live Shreiber, and directed by Edward Zwick, is a tale of survival (based on true events). It tells a story of three brothers, Tuvia, Asael and Zus Bielski, who somehow survive one of the first German slaughters of the Jews in many Belarusian villages. They escape to the forest, the only place, where they feel save and, soon enough, a group of Polish and Belarusian Jews follows them there beginning a movement that will become historyand in the end save over a thousand Jewish lives from the horrors of the Nazi occupation.
As the months go by, more and more people from various strata of society join the gang, which comes to be known as the Bielski Band. With the increased number of mouths to feed and fast approaching winter, they find themselves facing numerous problems they were not prepared for.
“Defiance” is not a movie for everyone (or as I like to call it—general public). It is a dramatic story of brotherhood, pride, loyalty, love and a desire to live. Moreover, it is a history lesson told in a beautiful fashion that displays people stripped of their homes, families and pride, who must face a myriad of human emotions.
For me, it was a touching story that hit close to home. The areas where it took place could be any of the Polish forests and the harsh realities of life that these people had to face could happen (and most likely did) to a number of people as the Polish also formed their own partisan units that lived in the forests and fought Germans.
So if you like movies that are based on true stories and portray real people, you should really enjoy it. However, if you’re looking for a lot of shooting and killing accompanied by tons of special effects, you will be sorely disappointed. And although “Defiance” takes place during World War II, it is not quite the war movie one might expect. It follows more in the footsteps of such great films as “The Schindler’s List” and “The Pianist”.