Defiance

Defiance - Dir. Edward Zwick (2008)

James Bond, Sabretooth, and Billy Elliot team up to fight Nazis and save Jews. Sounds like a movie to me.

Comic book artist Art Spiegelman (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus) coined the phrase ‘holo-kitsch’ for the sentimentalizing of the Holocaust in the popular media. There’s been a recent spate of films centered on the Holocaust and World War II from big-budget spectacles (Valkyrie) to arthouse fare (The Reader) with each one focusing on a single individual within the scope of a larger story. Defiance falls into the first category with plenty of action, pathos, and a cast of name talent. It tells the little-known story of the Bielski brothers who protected over 1200 Jews from the Nazis while hiding in the Belorussian forest.

Daniel Craig takes the lead as the eldest brother Tuvia. He and his younger brothers Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell) discover their parents have been murdered by the local police chief, a Nazi collaborator. They find their youngest brother Aron (George Mackay) hidden in the barn and look for refuge in the forest. There, they come across dozens of other Jews also hiding from the Germans. Soon, dozens grow into hundreds as everyone looks to Tuvia for guidance in their makeshift community. They build shelters and make some sort of life for themselves with a few of the men taking on “forest wives.” While Tuvia is primarily concerned with protecting those under his watch, Zus has a burning desire for vengeance. The brothers bitterly part as Zus joins up with a regiment of Russian soldiers in their strikes against Nazi forces.

Director Edward Zwick is familiar with films about the personal conflicts in a time of war or struggle. Looking at his body of work, Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, you can see similar themes running throughout them. From a technical standpoint, there isn’t much wrong with the picture. The film is well crafted and well acted. The cast is superb. Craig with his piercing blue eyes is the foundation for the film. The guys from Knocked Up will be happy to know he again plays a Jew who kicks some ass. Much like Wolverine, Schreiber plays the more violent-minded brother who displays rare moments of sardonic wit. Their characters are painted as real people with flaws rather than superheroes. In one harrowing scene, Tuvia looks for revenge against the police chief who murdered his parents. He kills the man, but is also forced to kill his sons while the man’s wife watches and begs to be killed as well. It’s not at all the satisfactory sense of closure he had hoped for.

Where the film fails is through its by-the-numbers approach to storytelling. There are the usual Hollywood flourishes that have been added to make the story more cinematic. Zwick goes for the most melodramatic shots when possible as if he were fishing for Oscars. Daniel Craig gives the obligatory inspirational speech while astride a gleaming, white horse. The director even goes for a Godfather moment, intercutting between Asael’s wedding with Zus and the Russians attacking German troops. It makes Defiance a good movie, but not a great one.

Rating: ***