Defiance

Viewer Rating:simonconnolly has rated Defiance rating: 3 Star

Defiance is the inspirational true story of four brothers, Tuvia , Zus, Aseal, and Aron Bielski and their fight against the German forces. The brothers all worked on the family farm in Belarus. After 'Operation Barbarossa' was carried out (invasion of their country) they were forced of their land and had to flee to the forest in December 1941 after the death of their parents. Along with 13 of their neighbours from the town they formed a small combat group, killing and obtaining weapons from the Belarus men who work with the Germans against their own people. The eldest brother Tuvia was commander of the group. his brother Zus just wants to get revenge on the Germans but Tuvia is determined to save as many of his people as he can. The number of people arriving for protection grew and eventually there were hundreds of people living in this forest instead of camps where they would be subjected to cruelty by the German's. They soon formed a small society in which everyone has a role to play and many structures were set up, each serving a purpose. The brothers have to deal with many problems such as division between the brothers as Zus joins soldiers, unsettled members of the camp and German forces trying to force them from their camp. Eventually an order is placed for the whole forest to be bombed and they must leave before being destroyed. They escape the forest but are attacked by a small squad of soldiers. It looks like their finished but Zus and his men return and together they kill all the men and return to an even more remote part of the forest where they set up a new camp. by the time the war ended over 1200 Jews were in the camp under the rule and protection of Tuvia Bielski. Defiance is completely different from every other war film that I have ever seen but I am sad to say that it was very disappointing. The unique story is so inspirational and moving that it could have been a serious Oscar contender. Unfortunately it was not very well handled. The structure at the beginning is terrible. There is no order. All the scenes are short and they jump very suddenly. For the whole film the director fails to raise any form of tension or excitement and just dives right in. Ed Zwick, the director, is obviously very passionate about this project judging from his interviews but unfortunately he failed to show this in his handling of the film. At times it showed promise and the last scene was mesmerising but I couldn't help but think what the likes of Steven Spielberg or Jerry Bruckheimer could have done with this. Luckily the film was greatly improved by the stars. The people in front of the camera did a much better job than the people behind it and they made it better than it would've been without them. I was not very optimistic about the man known as famous British agent James Bond playing a Jewish man fending off the German's in a forest but I was proven wrong. Daniel Craig was phenomenal as Tuvia Bielski. He perfectly portrayed the character of the man, killing only where necessary, a man too kind to turn anyone away. Craig's character is the most important of the film and he does a fantastic job. Craig gave tge best performance but it was no landslide. Jamie Bell and Liev Schreiber were also amazing as brothers Zus and Aseal. Zus is the violent one. He thinks they can resolve everything by killing and it is because of this that the brothers are eventually torn apart. Liev Schreider plays him very well and it's no suprise that after this film was released he was signed on for a total of 5 new films, including the highly anticipated X-Men spin-off, Wolverine. Jamie Bell was also brillaint in this film. He may be young but he has some very impressive roles under his belt and has starred in great films such as King Kong, Hallam Foe, Jumper and of course his rise to fame Billy Elliot. He could become one of Hollywood's biggest young stars if he continues on his current path. The fourth brother was played by George MacKay but his character didn't day or do much and so his performance was completely unmemorable. So all in all Defiance is a relatively good but disappointing film. It drags on quite a bit at times but that might just be due to the fact that the setting is just the forest, for the whole 137 minute run time. Despite this it is worth the watch but in fairness it is Oscar season and I can assure you that there are better films you could be watching instead of this.

Review published on the 20 February 2009 04:57