The Commuter

Movie review: "Defiance"

Max Brown
The Commuter

Monday, April 13, 2009

Holocaust movies have their own sub genre in Hollywood. “Defiance” does things a little different than the majority of them. It shows a group of Jews who fought back.

“Defiance” is a movie about the Bielski brothers and their refuge for Jews in the forests of Belarus during World War II. It is based on actual events, which ended up saving over 1200 Jews during the war.

After Nazi forces kill the majority of their family, the Bielski brothers flee to the nearby woods and attempt to live. Soon they find more Jews hiding in the forest and start to build a community, while trying to stay hidden from the Nazis.

As the film progresses you see the difference of thought from the two main brothers. On one side you have Tuvia (Daniel Craig), who wants less bloodshed and to help as many people as he can. On the other you have Zus (Liev Schreiber) attempting to exact his revenge, and feels that they should not worry about anything but.

The conflict played out between these brothers is intense and attention-grabbing. At times you cannot help but feel like Tuvia is the “good” guy. Craig and Schreiber do very well in these positions. It is nice to see Craig playing the position of the “caring guy” after his recent Bond movies, although they are very good movies.

This film is not perfect, but it will keep your interest. One important aspect of this film was the building of the community. Many of the members of the community have “forest marriages,” which help to build the characters. They have a rabbi and many intellectuals that solidify that community feeling.

There is a good serving of action in this movie without ramming it down your throat. The action does a great job of keeping you wide awake but does not overshadowing the story or characters. Most of the time, however, the gripping scenes are the ones with the members of the community at odds with each other.

“Defiance” is worth seeing. It plays well on your emotions and it tells the story of a group that fought against all odds during World War II. It may not be as good as other movies about the holocaust such as “The Pianist” or “Schindler’s List,” but it’s still a good movie.

After the war the war, Tuvia and Zus moved to Palestine and fought in the war that established the Israeli state. After that they immigrated to the United States. Aseal joined the Soviet army, but died in battle in 1945. Only one brother remains alive. That is Aron, and he is living in the US.

Theatrical release: