Yep I know I’ve mentioned it at least twice in the last week and talked about watching it for even longer on Twitter. I finally got around to popping it on last night at 1 in the morning!
If you’ve not watched this then like yesterday the following will contain spoilers.
The film is set during World War 2 and is an account of the Bielski partisans, a group of Jews protecting and recruiting more Jews to their cause.
On learning of their parents slaughter at the hands of the Nazi’s they vow revenge and retreat to the nearby forest which they know well. They are led by the four brothers and Tuvia, Zus, Asael and Aron who encounter some Jews already hiding in the forest and offer their protection.
The brothers gain their revenge fairly early on in the film but over the following few weeks they begin to disagree about their strategy for survival. This leads to Tuvia and Zus fighting and ultimately Zus leaving and joining some Russian partisans instead.
During the winter illness and betrayal strikes the camp that is now led by Tuvia and at times it seems they may not make it through to the spring. Whilst they do lose some people during this time yet more are recruited and all pitch in.
During the spring the Germans discover the secret camp and manage to bomb it forcing the occupants to flee. This is quickly followed up by a group of soldiers coming through the forest and they are forced to leave nearly everything behind.
After crossing a marsh with some difficulty they are once again attacked by more Germans but this time with a tank. Tuvia manages to flank the soldiers and opens fire on them with a machine gun diverting their attention. This doesn’t last long versus the tank and soon it looks as though all hope is lost.
Just in time (of course) Zus comes in from the other side of the forest with some men of his own having left the Russians. This leads to them being able to kill the German soldiers and finally render the tank unusable. At this point the film ends but further detail is revealed before the credits.
Being based on a true story the following years are accounted for via text on the screen revealing that they not only survived 2 more years in the forest but also managed to build a school and hospital with a community of nearly 1,200 people.
More importantly though is what did I think? A film based on a true story can often be a hard thing to make/watch as you aren’t afford the freedom you would get with a piece of fiction.
However the actors involved played their parts well in particular Daniel Craig. I won’t say I was moved by his performance but it certainly kept my attention focused on the film and anticipating how he would deal with his next challenge in the forest.
The film also offered a good length clocking in at just over 2 hours which of course allows that little bit more time at the start of the film for the characters to be developed.
Thinking more about it I really don’t think I have anything bad to say about the film in general – great sound, great acting, beautifully shot and told an important story of bravery and heroism which should certainly be more well known.
What really disappointed me was how long it took to watch Defiance. I checked tonight when I received it from Lovefilm….October. Whoops! Must do better next time I suppose….
