defiance

another second world war film on the big screen
this one has daniel craig on loan from james bond duties
it's also based on a book of a true story set in belarus
the film opens with what appears to be archival footage
some grainy black and white heart-wrenching scenes
jewish families being torn apart by the invading nazis
and then a smooth transition to panavision colour
2 brothers discovering the horror that has visited
all in their village massacred - including their parents
they head for the hills to avoid certain death themselves
apart from the nazis the local police are now anti-semitic
there's a bounty on offer for any jews that are reported
and so the scene is set for this sad but true story of survival
as the word spreads more jews turn to them for protection
in turn the brothers enlist the help of a russian resistance group
one brother zus (liev schreiber) wants to fight the germans
meanwhile tuvia (daniel craig) believes survival is paramount
and so the film neatly divides into 2 stories of the brothers
they angrily go their separate ways with tuvia now in charge
most of the film is spent with him and his burgeoning followers
digging in for the harsh winter of 1941 with little food and shelter
tempers flaring at times as hunger and sickness dominates
some pre-viewing reading had warned me to be prepared
various critics complaining about heavy-handed direction
lack of subtlety and hammering home of points mostly
which meant i was probably looking more than usual for fault
but all i found was a bit of unconvincing ensemble acting at times
scenes with a lot of the refugees involved mostly too rehearsed
bringing to mind on several occasions a feeling of live theatre
also at times the serious music score just too over-played
otherwise i was very moved by the story and the acting
daniel craig totally convincing in his role as king of the jews
biblical references not out of place in this desperate situation
but tuvia is not perfect - at times his actions quite confronting
leading me to thinking how would i react in his situation
no answer there - too much to contemplate really
after nearly 2 hours the film builds to a climactic finale
some very realistic war scenes as the germans track them down
tank shells and grenades exploding across the theatre's sound system
and it's brother zus to the rescue and another retreat into the woods
where they hid out for another 2 years while the war continued
as the credits rolled some photos of the brothers are shown
with a few more facts about their post-war lives
an astounding story of courage really
and done so well in this fine film