Defiance

(2008)

Directed by

Edward Zwick

Review by Todd Plucknett

Edward Zwick’s new film Defiance is an insightful and intense look into the lives of four brothers in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1941 and their struggle to survive after escaping into the Belarussian forest. It is based on the novel by Nechama Tec called “Defiance: The Bielski Partisians”, which was adapted for this movie by Zwick and Clayton Frohman. It is a fascinating film that never loses its tone or appeal. It is arguably Zwick’s finest film to date.

The film starts out in thrilling fashion, with Zus and Asael Bielski (Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) running through the forest, watching the Nazi soldiers fleeing the village that they escaped from prior to the invasion. When the coast is clear, they retreat back to their village, only to find their parents murdered and their youngest brother Aron (George McKay) hiding below the floor boards in a house. They get out of there as soon as possible, then rest in the woods. Their oldest brother Tuvia (Daniel Craig) shows up to complete the group of brothers. Needing food and weapons, they seek out an old friend from a nearby village and take some rations from them. The only problem was that they also had to take several Jews that were hiding there from the invading Nazis.

Before they know it (thanks to Tuvia’s inability to say “No” to anyone), the group had grown into basically its own little village, so they started to set up camp. Their policy was that everyone worked and everyone got treated the same, from food portions to sheltering. They would seek out friends and take whatever they could give to ensure their survival in the forest. They started out with one gun with four bullets, but not too long later, they had weapons guarding every part of the perimeter of the fort they had set up. This was able to hold through several enemy invasions. Soon, they team up with a Russian military group, who agreed to support the Jews if they offered their best fighters to work for them and if their women would cook and make clothes for them. This bond, while at times futile, had a large part to do with the group’s survival. They were able to endure through a brutal attack of a wolf, several invasions, a tragically snowy winter, and a terrible sickness to the group’s leader.

Zus and Tuvia are fascinating characters. Tuvia is the emotional and rational of the two. He wanted to please everyone and be as fair as possible. He was, for the most part, respected and followed by every member of the village. He had a knack for motivation and leadership. Zus, on the other hand, was the Lincoln Burrows of the group. After finding out that his wife and child were dead, all he wanted to do was kill some Nazis. He led groups to take out caravans and invade Nazi camps to steal their goods and get some frustration off his shoulders. He grew to not care anymore about life. What did he have to live for? He kept fighting, however. He constantly disagreed and had physical confrontations with Tuvia over how the system should be run and what the next step should be. This clash of personalities really forms the core of the film. They were fighting toward the same goal, but they were going about it different ways and with different mindsets.

In that way, the film is a lot like Platoon. Zus and Tuvia are of course Barnes and Elias, and they have to coexist and actually work together for survival. Zus and Barnes fight with an obsession and fearlessness that is so uncommon, while Tuvia and Elias are trying to hold everything and everyone together, while trying to keep their group from acting and fighting too savagely. In that way also, Zwick is a lot like Oliver Stone. Neither have a single subtle bone in their body, but that is really what adds to their appeal and sometimes charm. Both have similar camera techniques (in Defiance and many other Zwick films, this could be displayed through several close-ups of characters with tears streaming down their broken-down faces). In both directors’ films, everything is so blunt, but when tackling subjects like Vietnam or the Holocaust, what wouldn’t seem so pretentious and blunt? I feel that it is a credit to their honesty and respect for the subject matter. Zwick’s direction and representation of this astonishing true story is an incredible achievement that is treated with nothing but the utmost admiration and reverence.

The film is able to survive and even thrive despite its abundant strings of weak dialogue and probable historical inaccuracies. Zwick’s careful hand is evident in every scene, holding the film together. How exciting can a film set almost exclusively in a Russian forest be? Well, it can be incredibly exciting, engaging, and gripping. The score by the great James Newton Howard is the best score of the year. It is likely going to get the same treatment as the best one of the decade, The Painted Veil (another Schreiber film, oddly enough), and fail to get the Oscar nod. This score is pounding and creates the tone for every scene in the film. The sound mixing is really just incredible in this film. There are so many great shots and fascinating action sequences, placing this film among the most technically and artistically captivating films of the year.

The other thing that cannot go unnoticed is the acting. Daniel Craig, while it is fairly difficult to buy him as a Jew, is very effective as the group’s leader. He does resort to being Bond in some sequences in the film, but overall, he is quite good and convincing. Liev Schreiber deserves an Oscar for his performance. There is one scene in particular that is as well acted as any scene of 2008. He is absolutely brilliant and compelling in his role as Zus, creating a character of extreme complexity and passion. Jamie Bell is also terrific as the younger brother who always wants to get in the battle. With a core of those three characters with those three fantastic actors playing them, the movie is able to reach heights that are uncommon for films of this nature. They are truly incredible.

Watching Defiance was one of the best experiences I had at any 2008 film. It is complex, inspiring, and always thrilling and engaging. They are blessed with an incredible story, and I cannot imagine a more effective representation of it. It is something that I was not familiar with prior to my viewing of this film, but I can now say that it is one of the more remarkable and moving accounts of the Holocaust I have seen in some time. Sadly, though, this film has been treated like Rescue Dawn was last year, with minimal recognition from awards circles. It deserves a lot more credit than it is getting. Its aspirations were high, trying to possible erase some previously-conceived notions about the Jews and their lack of fight during the Holocaust ordeal. Well, this film completely opened my eyes and reaches those aspirations in absolutely inspirational fashion. It is a special film that deserves to be seen and deserves a much stronger reception than it got.

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