Capsule Film Review: Defiance (2008)

in #film5 years ago

Based on a true story, 2008 war drama Defiance begins in 1941 with German invasion of Belarus and its Jewish population, even before the formal start of Final Solution, becoming victims of murderous campaign by SS Einsatzgruppen and their local anti-Semitic collaborators. Tuvia (played by Daniel Craig) and Zus Bielski (played by Liev Schreiber) are two Jewish brothers who, unlike their parents, managed to escape Nazis and hide in the forests. From there they engage in occasional acts of revenge, but soon they become leaders of small, but increasing group of Jewish survivors. As the numbers rise to hundreds, brothers begin to differ whether to merely survive or to actually fight guerilla war against Nazis, with vengeful Zus joining Soviet Partisans despite endemic anti-Semitism within their ranks. Defiance, directed by Edward Zwick, best known for depiction of US Civil War in Glory, represents a well-made historical film and one of the rare Holocaust films that features action scenes. Unfortunately, like in many such films ending sacrifices historic thruth to cheap Hollywood cliches. Impression is even worse when Defiance is compared to Come and See, classic 1985 Soviet film that dealt with similar settings and topics in much better way.

RATING: 6/10

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70391.42
ETH 3572.68
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.74