Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Defiance (2008)

Director: Edward Zwick                                 Writers: Clayton Frohman & Edward Zwick
Film Score: James Newton Howard                Cinematography: Eduardo Serra
Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell and Alexa Davalos

One of the most often repeated myths about the Jewish people during the Holocaust is that they didn’t fight back, and went to the slaughter like lambs. It’s true that many did just that, waiting for their god to save them, or believing that if they just did what the Germans wanted that they would eventually survive, or simply that they refused to behave in kind and give up their humanity in order to survive. But there were those who fought back, the most famous being the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and of course the escape of Jews from Sobibor. But Defiance is another story, from occupied Russia, of a trio of brothers who saved over a thousand of their people from extermination at the hands of the Nazis.

The story begins in West Belarus, where the Nazi special detail troops--in charge of killing Jews--is taking over the area. The three Bielski brothers, played by Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell learn that their parents have been killed, and so they take to the woods. While still dealing with their grief, they meet others who have hidden there and begin to collect them into one group. Intent on escape at first, it becomes clear that they will need food to survive. Craig, the oldest, evolves as the natural leader and urges compassion. Schreiber, meanwhile, has his heart set on revenge. One of the brilliant parts of the screenplay is how neither path seems to be the clear one. While the revenge is satisfying in the short term, it also gets men killed. And when they do practice compassion, they wind up being exposed by those they have spared.

It’s a harrowing story, as one would expect from a Holocaust film, but it is also hopeful. The people set up a camp deep in the woods, working communally and, as Craig tells them, living for themselves for however short a time rather than at the bidding of the Nazi occupiers. The story is based on the book by Nechama Tec. There are some major aspects of the film that diverge drastically from reality but, as I have stated on many occasions, that need not hamper a film that is telling a story for a purpose. The reality is that nearly twelve hundred were saved, and if their leaders were less than heroic or egalitarian, that does not necessarily have to hamper the telling of a story. The screenwriters’ purpose was to tell an inspirational story, and changing historical details allowed them to do that.

Craig and Schreiber are odd as brothers, but they make it work. The complaint that Craig is too associated with the James Bond franchise to be believable is also a frequent criticism. I think he does a good job and with the excellent production design, the emphasis on language--the conceit is that the English we hear is Yiddish, and when they are speaking Russian or German we actually hear those languages--and solid direction he seems very realistic to me. Zwick is right where he belongs here, with films like Glory and The Last Samurai on his resume, and this is no exception. Defiance is a powerful and inspiring story, a much needed addition to the Holocaust filmography, especially when it comes to ending the myth of complete submission.

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