Defiance

Defiance begins shortly after the German invasion of Russia, as the Nazis have begun to occupy what is now the Republic of Belarus. As they did throughout all the lands they occupied in eastern Europe, they begin rounding up and executing the local Jewish population, with an assist from some of the local populace and police. Defiance is the story of over a thousand escaped Jews who fled into the local Belorussian forest, hid, fought back against the Nazis, as well as formed their own rudimentary society. This society was led by Tuvia and Zus Bielski, two brothers, played by Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber respectively. This film does an excellent job in conveying both the fear and uncertainty that obviously ensued from living under such conditions, as most of the people had no idea how to survive in the forest. The two brothers apply tough love in helping them to adapt to forest life, in addition to forming their own partisan group amongst the men in hiding, to both sabotage Nazi operations, as well as to defend themselves. The battle scenes are outstanding and most definitely give you the feeling of watching a real war in action. The principals all do an excellent job in portraying their characters, and the two leads also realistically portray the conflict that can occur when two brothers have different viewpoints. Unlike the other two major Holocaust/WWII themed movies that are out now, Valkyrie and The Reader, there are no sympathetic Nazis here, only a great story that should be seen.

Rating - 3 1/2 Stars