DEFIANCE

There are so many stories about World War II and the Holocaust, it has become increasingly more difficult for producers of films and printed works to decipher the truth. Accounts in the pending, but now dead in the water, Angel at the Fence were disproved to a degree that Herman Rosenblat could no longer defend or deny by a team from Michigan State University. The discovery all but shelved the author's dreams of sharing his fictitious account of how he first met his wife as kids on opposite sides of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp.

I mention this as a mini-foreword so that you will understand the significance of finding an intensely unique, and more importantly true, story in a period during the world's history that has been convoluted and reimagined to the distress of historians, survivors, veterans, and nations alike.

Everybody's favorite, or at least current favorite Bond, Daniel Craig is Tuvia Bielski, an unsettled man who returned home to find his best friend and brother, Zus, played aptly by Liev Schreiber has managed to save the younger Bielski brothers from certain death by roving Nazi's. These same Nazi's, known to them since childhood were once farmers and businessmen, never fond of any of the local Jewish families. Distraught by the death of their parents, Tuvia kills a commander and his sons while his brothers safely retreat to the Belarussian forest and await his return. Of course Tuvia returns with many more displaced Jewish men, women and children all seeking the safety and anonymity the forest afford them. Quickly, the rogue spirit of the brothers begins to shine through as they devise a plan to create a co-op and support the influx of their fellow brethren. Leadership is not easily shared and Zus and Tuvia take separate but equally intriguing pasts, at times they are at odds with each other, but more often than not, they are share the same enemy - self discovery.

Defiance by name is not accurate. Most of those who retreat to the forest are not fighters by trade and simply wish to avoid the Nazi rule or plight afflicting family and friends now taken to work camps across Germany and Poland. Tuvia struggles with how to save everyone and lead compassionately. Zus battles to escape the shadow of his older brother and in joining the Soviet military finds the disdain for his fellow Jews comparable to the Nazi's.

I marveled at the depth of the story and the relative ease with which Edward Zwick and Clayton Frohman delivered superior character arcs and kept the momentum. Two years literally passed in eighty-eight minutes. Though I jest, there was little room for ho-hum acting or a lapse in action, drama, and great dialogue. At moments the air of despair felt too thick to breath and the utter joy at times fed my soul long enough to endeavor the next daring moment, whether it be an escape or a food mission.

Another strength of Defiance is also its barrier to getting its credit where and when it is due. Somewhat a sleeper film, those who favor action will pass it, fearing too much drama and those who favor story will see Craig and almost immediately and viscerally react to it as if they were being asked to watch Rambo. Catch Defiance on the big screen or the home theater and you are sure to see an intelligent adaptation of a true story that moves, entertains, and challenges you, the viewer.