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 In cinemas Thursday [MA15+]
Director: Edward Zwick
Runtime: 136mins
Acclaimed director Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai) displays great passion and respect for the wartime subject matter within Defiance. It is this that ultimately proves to be both the film’s success and failure, as he presents a beautiful and poignant look at German-occupied Poland and Belorussia of World War II, but at times treats things too respectfully, avoiding warts and all storytelling.
This aside, Daniel Craig stoically headlines Defiance’s cast, portraying the appointed leader of a large group of fleeing Polish Jews from the German war machine. Hiding in the deep forests of Belorussia, among the survivors are the Bielski brothers: Tuvia (Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), Asael (Jamie Bell) and Aron (George MacKay). Each of the brothers take on principal roles within the forest camp to protect the abundance of mistreated Jews escaping the German radar. Craig and Schreiber create dynamic chemistry within their sibling rivalry over leadership within the camp. Their differing stance on the choice between a violent or non-violent approach for the group’s survival provides powerful points in the film’s narrative. As the film is an adaptation of Nechama Tec’s novel Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, it provides a vehicle for fascinating insight into these true events, which resulted in the rescue of over 1200 Jews by war’s end.
While Craig offers a reliably solid and suitable performance (blonde hair and blue eyes aside), Schreiber is a standout as the rogue brother, creating emotional layers within his otherwise fierce character. Fresh-faced Jamie Bell is also a welcome addition to the cast, softening the tone of the film with adolescence. Some elements of humour and light and shade are added, with various dialogues between Jewish camp members particularly memorable, and the beautiful and joyous forest wedding scene amidst winter snow providing an appropriate break from the subject matter’s necessary gloom. Defiance triumphs stylistically with stunning cinematography capturing the changing of the seasons within the camp. Plus the costumes and score are pretty near perfect to match.
Original photographs and where-are-they-now descriptions of the real-life characters shown at the film’s end add authenticity, but the story still seems somewhat muted and lacking in genuine realism in part, despite its many strong points. While intense, Defiance doesn’t fully grab you emotionally. A love subplot with Craig is essentially Bond and his forest wife, and the complex relationship between the battling brothers could have been developed further. The raw fear and desperation evident in a film such as Schindler’s List isn’t really apparent in this somewhat delicate approach to an interesting part of WWII history on film. But overall, in a time where wartime topics within cinema are quite prevalent, kudos to Defiance for being a cut above expectations in most areas.
*** ½
MICHELLE MANENTI
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