Film Review--Defiance

Defiance
directed by Edward Zwick
written by Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick
based on the book, “Defiance: the Bielski Partisans” by Nechama Tec
starring Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, George MacKay, Allan Corduner, Mark Feuerstein, Tomas Arana, Mia Wasikowska

Four brothers escape the perils of Nazi-occupied Germany and take to the forest. They quickly realize there are others and quickly dangerous rescue missions are undertaken to rescue as many Jews as possible.

The Bielski brothers consist of Tuvia (Craig), Zus (Schreiber), Asael (Bell) and Aron (MacKay). Their parents have been murdered by the police. Tuvia takes a gun with four bullets to the Chief’s house and comes back with three. He spared the grieving widow and denied her of her wish to be shot dead as well. There is a rivalry between Tuvia and Zus and there is always the threat that they will resort to violence. When this finally happens it explodes in a full-on brawl that shocks those who look on.

The story focuses on the accumulation of Jews, some of them who are ill-prepared to hole up in the forest. At first women are not allowed to handle weapons but this idea is quashed when it becomes apparent that it is necessary to include them in the fighting. Slowly but surely the Jews shuffle into the forest, sick, confused, bewildered by their circumstances, tired, and very hungry. It is intense to see all of these Jews appear as if out of thin air. One is supposed to imagine the nightmarish existence that has proceeded the arrival in the forest and this realization helps inform the duration of the film. These people, the film consistently reminds us, have almost been broken but not quite. They have finally come to a place where life can begin a new without daily persecution. Yet they are reminded that they may very well die if fight and this real potentiality does not deter them.

Granted, the enemy in this film doesn’t get an opportunity to express an opinion on any topic whatsoever. Perhaps this is necessary to the overall tone of the film. An articulate Nazi clearly stating his position, dressed in his finest, might throw the entire film out of balance. One can’t allow arguments against the central core belief being presented by the film to be validated. Well, one could if the intent of the film was to be parity and not strict demonization.

The forest scenes are gorgeously shot as the small Jewish community begins to form. There is a real sense of home created in the wilderness as all those healthy enough to participate are put to work to do whatever is necessary to maintain the integrity of the operation. There is of course romance which one can’t help but expect under these conditions. Tuvia and Lilka Ticktin (Davalos) strike up a sexual relationship and Asael marries a girl named Chaya Dziencielsky (Wasikowska). These scenes between the couples are treated with soft light that is supposed to remind viewers that life does not end because one is trapped in an undesirable situation.

There are many images of exhausted, ill-kempt and miserable looking Jews which I suppose enforces the lowly state that many of them were reduced to during this trying time. There isn’t a terribly significant presentation of a great number of vital personages who are fully capable of saving themselves would it ever come to that. Instead they require Tuvia to be their leader and instruct them on the proper course to ensure their survival. Left alone they would never be able to survive their ordeal. At least this is how the film depicts them. Many of them stand on the sideline shivering and hoping desperately that there will be enough food to feed them for another day at least. In this world the only thing save survival that matters is making sure you have enough bullets to protect yourself and those others who have come into your care.

Zus is presented as a born fighter who has something of the mercenary to his personality. There is one sequence of fighting that is rather laughably like the most stereotypical action film replete with slow motion and many dead bodies. It’s questionable if the partisans entertained the Germans in this type of combat; some have said that it never take place. Regardless, it’s exceedingly energetic at times and the action sequences provide the film with a necessary intensity that it maintains nearly throughout.

The insurgents encounter a regiment of Russian partisans; Zus and some of the others agree to fight along side them in exchange for supplies. The Russians prove to be capable warriors but ultimately upset Zus due to their rampant antisemitism. Zus returns to the camp just in time to make himself very useful in another battle with the Germans. There really isn’t anyplace for this rag-tag band of Jewish survivors to turn to other than themselves. Yet as mentioned most of appear to helplessly go along with whatever is being administrated to them.

This film does speak to countless possibilities regarding our own survival capacities. How many of us possess the proper skills to survive out in conditions such as those that are laid out in this film? The film seems to suggest that provided with the correct type of leadership then even the lowliest amongst us might have a fighting chance to pull through such difficult times. The idea of being thrust into a whole new existence is a titillating one. To be forced to make your own way free of bank accounts, grocery stores, gas stations, libraries, etc. is not something that most civilized folks are even able to contemplate. These Jews survived two more years beyond the end of the film and they built hospitals and schools. It’s a remarkable achievement that is necessitated by absolute fear and the resultant posture of fearlessness.

The performances in this film all work well with the material. Liev Schreiber is a force of nature for the duration of this film. His physicality is immense but he also brings a solidity to the role and it is clear that he is in a position of respect in the community. Schreiber demonstrates a sort of fearlessness in his performance that is both riveting and a bit terrifying. Daniel Craig as Tuvia takes care of the administration in this film. He’s essentially a bureaucrat who structures and organizes the daily routine. As such his role is to remain calm and as objective as possible. Craig exudes a quiet and intense calm in his eyes which he uses time and again when the camera reminds the audience what he is looking at.

Overall, this film is a decent piece of melodramatic cinema that promotes a specific truth about this particular series of events that led to the survival of scores of Jews in a time when most of them may not have survived. I suppose the intent of the film is to sell the idea that these particular Jews grew stronger as their stay in the forest lengthened. They learned how to make the most out of a trying and exceedingly strange and difficult situation. In the end it’s just another story about the perseverance of the human will to survive at all costs. In that it’s not a remarkable telling and the final imprint of the film is in turn trite and unexceptional. There isn’t really anything here that hasn’t been seen many times before. People are scared, running from the other, and find themselves face-to-face with their own mortality. Ultimately, the film merely states the obvious and it doesn’t do anything much more than that.