There are plenty of films about WWII, and specifically the Holocaust. There are films like Valkyrie, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Reader, and Downfall that all focus on the terrible times for the world in the 1940s. Like the ones I have mentioned, this film focuses on three individuals that ended up saving thousands of lives. Defiance is about three brothers whose family is killed, so they go into the woods that they know so well. At first it was to hide, but soon the woods became much more.
The Bielski brothers started to take more and more Jews into the woods and made it into a community. They were all looking for freedom. Everyone wanted the chance to live like human beings. Not only do the brothers try to protect all of the Jews and themselves, but they also had to provide and care for everyone as well. It was a big responsibility to take all these people and reassure them they were going to be okay. The Jewish people trusted them with their lives. But because of the courage of these three brothers, soon everyone played a part in order to survive. They just needed someone to look up to and their answer was the Bielski brothers.
Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell play the three brothers. They are each fantastic and play well off of each other. It’s solid casting on the film’s part to get three talented guys to play important roles. Of course, Craig has come to fame due to the Bond films, but he sheds that image quite well in Defiance. You almost forget he ever played such a character. He has done well by picking roles that are different from the James Bond role that everyone knows him from. Of course, these guys had some help from a good director that knows how to tell a story, but also can mix it in with some terrific action.
Edward Zwick has directed films like The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond. He knows how to create a film that can entertain with all of its action, but also show depth in the characters. Zwick cares about his characters and how they affect the story. He mixes a lot of genres, but he never loses his focus and neither does Defiance.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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