Defiance

Spanks - 4

Director - Edward Zwick

Writers - Clayton Frohman & Edward Zwick

Starring - Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell & George MacKay

Release Date - 16 January 09

MPAA Rating - R

Defiance is a film about the Bielski Brothers and their camp during World War Two. It is adapted from Nechama Tec's book "Defiance: The Bielski Partisans". The Bielski's were a Jewish family living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Their parents were killed because they wouldn't go to the ghettos by the local police under the orders of the Nazi. The brothers fled into the forest and find other survivors. Tuvia, the oldest Bielski, becomes the leader. The camp continues to grow as more Jews escape the Germans. The film follows the groups survival in the forest.

The film's trailer makes it look like its about the Jews fighting back against the Nazis like a typical war movie. There are a few battle scenes, but the main focus is the lives of the people living in the forest. The struggles of a cold winter, the sibling rivalry between Tuvia and Zus, antisemitism from the Soviets, starvation, and keeping away from the Germans to stay alive.

It is a very good story. I don't know why it isn't well known, because you don't hear of that much good coming out of World War Two. It wasn't taught to me in high school, I don't know if it was in other high schools.

Defiance doesn't use and fancy cinematography or million dollar digital special effects. It doesn't need too. Its about the people and their lives, not the horrors of war. Showing all that would take away from the story of survival. The only problem I had was the film moves a little slow at times.