Defiance (2008)
Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 137 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Stars: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell
IMDb score:
7,1 (160.786)
Releasedate: 31 December 2008
Defiance plot
"Freedom begins with an act of defiance"
Four Jewish brothers escape Nazi-occupied Poland. They flee to Belarus, where they join Russian resistance fighters and start building a solid base to protect themselves and all those in danger.
Actors and actresses
Tuvia Bielski
Zus Bielski
Asael Bielski
Lilka Ticktin
Shimon Haretz
Isaac Malbin
Ben Zion Gulkowitz
Tamara Skidelsky
Riva Reich
Yitzhak Shulman
Reviews & comments
Alathir
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- 2133 messages
- 1638 votes
Slightly disappointed with this film by Zwick.
The real horror of the war is for some reason pushed too much into the background. We hardly ever think about a mass grave and we get far too little real drama. They are in their forest peeling chips. They are hungry and cold, some get the typhus and die. Who dies, no idea. Jews not introduced in the film.
Coincidentally, there is a white horse on which Craig, in the role of Tuvia Bielski, is presented as a real hero. Where did that horse suddenly come from? Where do all those fries come from? We are constantly in a forest, why are there no robberies shown? I can't imagine that the Bielski brothers unjustly killed anyone to stay alive themselves.
I barely got a WWII feeling about the large part in the forest. It looked like one big campsite where they forgot the picnic. I thought the Germans were barely present. Maybe this was the case in real life, but the real threat only came at the end when it is too late. I also think Craig is more of a miscast as he looks more like German. Schreiber is doing well.
What also stood out in Zwick's previous films I've seen was the excellent soundtrack. Here I thought it was just average. Still a 3.5* because I might focus a bit too much on the negative. In the end it remains a decent film that is unfortunately a bit too "Americanized".
Translated from Dutch · View original
Onderhond
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- 87623 messages
- 12889 votes
ugh.
Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber as Polish heroes in a Polish story directed by a low-slung Hollywood director. How could that ever go wrong, right? It is a kind of War Winter, but made in Poland and with a slightly larger budget.
Especially towards the end it shows, with a number of beautifully shot scenes. Not so much the action scenes, but some quieter moments in the woods. Although "quiet" is relative of course, because it remains a Hollywood film and they have to move forward a bit.
The fact that you're stuck with a British and American protagonist is quite painful, they both really don't do it well. The story also didn't really captivate and the action scenes are pretty bad. Especially those blurry filters above it really don't make it any better. Nah, rather soulless film, Zwick lives up to its reputation.
1.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
True war stories are not always easy to tell from a Hollywood standpoint. This is also apparent here. Defiance is a rather heavily romanticized version of reality in which the flight and hiding of the Bielski clan took several years. The chasing of the group is also a bit too limited. Especially the real hardships and emotions are missing because of the flat characters.
However, the film starts well with real black and white documentary images being used and slowly replaced by the film. Afterwards it becomes an entertaining story in which the clichés are not avoided. It's not that hard to predict that Zus will be the big returned hero at the end. Neither are the love romances of the brothers.
Nevertheless, a reasonable scope with a Daniel Craig who does well, but where Liev Schreiber outclasses him. The action scenes look technically pretty good, unfortunately too little attention has been paid to the rest in my opinion. Just a little enough.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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