Defiance

Filmmaker Edward Zwick likes to tackle war stories about underdogs. In 1989, he brought us Glory, about black soldiers fighting in the Civil War. In 2003, he made The Last Samurai, about an American soldier embracing the ways of the Samurai and fighting alongside them. Now he brings us Defiance, which is the true story of Jews who refused to be captured, made their lives in the surrounding woods, and fended off the Nazis and anyone who would try to turn them in. The movie is not so much about war, as it is a story of survival, but it still deals with the familiar themes of persecution and fighting back that Zwick likes to employ in his films.

I have no doubt that a very involving film could be made of the story of the "Bielski Partisans", a group that started with three brothers and ultimately ended with 1,200 individual members. And yet, I felt a certain detachment from it. The movie is well made, has some good visuals, and the performances are strong. But the characters are treated with such a herd mentality, that we seldom get to get up close to the people. We get their hardships and their struggles to survive in the elements, but we don't get their personal stories. The movie is also curiously lacking in emotional power. There is one great moment late in the film, when a captured German soldier is brought into the camp and pleads for his life, only to have those around him beat him to death, screaming about the atrocities they've been put through. I wanted more moments like this. Moments where the characters actually seemed like people with lives and pasts, not just extras huddling and marching through the forest.

Maybe I'm getting burned out on Holocaust dramas, but I found the plight of the Bielski brothers uninvolving. The brothers include Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schrieber), and Asael (Jamie Bell). They flee from the Nazis when their village is attacked, and take refuge in the woods. They're not alone for long, as other survivors have also found their way into the woods, and they eventually band together. Tuvia takes command of the group, I guess, because he can give stirring speeches while sitting atop a white horse that sound like they've been tailor made to be used as a clip at the Oscars. He believes in living peacefully and surviving in the wilderness, but Zus has a bloodlust, and wants to use their resources to take revenge on the German army. This causes some friction within the camp, but for the most part, the group is able to organize, and starts taking in more Jewish survivors. There are some romantic subplots thrown in for Tuvia and Asael, Zus eventually leaves the group to join the Russian fighters, and we get a lot of ominous warnings about food rations, disease, and the harsh winter that may spell doom for those trying to survive.

Of all the characters in the film, Zus probably comes across as the most fleshed out and interesting. Part of this is because he's one of the few who breaks from the herd and speaks for himself, and part of it is due to Schrieber's fine performance. All of the acting on display is fine, but his stood out the most to me. As the leader of the group, Daniel Craig gets to say a lot of stirring speeches that sound too scripted and perfectly thought out. I would have liked if maybe he was just a little bit more uncertain, but he seems to have a perfectly scripted answer for everything. Defiance is not a bad movie, but it is the kind of movie that the phrase "Oscar Bait" was invented for. Every scene seems like it was shot specifically to be used as a clip at an Award show, and it constantly seems to be reminding us just how important it is. Even the music score by James Newton Howard seems to be reminding us, with how dramatic and sometimes bombastic it sounds. It also sounds like it desperately wants to be John Williams' memorable score to Schindler's List at times.

Maybe a documentary, rather than a fictional retelling, would have been the correct way to tell this story and the people involved. I never felt like I was watching history, I felt like I was watching a reenactment. I was never transported into the story, like a great historical movie can do. Those who join up to fight alongside the Bielskis pretty much just show up without so much as an introduction, and then stay in the background. There are a few standouts (the intellectual, the teacher), but very few in the group get to do more other than comment on depleting rations. When they are forced to fight during the film's battle sequences, I didn't feel any tension or feeling. It's hard to get involved when everyone who walks on the screen seems disposable. That's why I liked the previously mentioned scene with the German soldier so much. The characters finally get to come out of the background and tell us their story.

Defiance is a movie that knows what to give us, and what we expect of it, but never makes the extra effort that it should. We're left with some good performances, strong images, and a story that would have been stirring with a bit more development and heart put into it. I guess the movie was designed to make us want to learn more about the true story. All it made me do was begin counting the days until I would see the very same Holocaust film cliches used again.

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