Defiance
Reviews
Wuchak
**_Survival in the woods during WW2_** As Nazi forces sweep through Eastern Europe in 1941 the Bielski brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) seek refuge in the deep forests on the border of Poland and Belorussia (Belarus). More and more desperate Jews join their ranks for common protection and to oppose the occupying Germans. How can they all survive in the woods during the next four years of war? Released in 2008-2009, "Defiance" is a drama/war film that has a lot going for it: a story based on actual events, good actors, authentic locations (filmed in Lithuania, a mere 100 miles or so from the actual sites), effective cinematography and a quality score. I personally love survival-type films and "Defiance" fills the bill, although it's not great like, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992). The filmmakers throw in all kinds of dynamic things to maintain the viewer's attention: Numerous gun battles, an airstrike and a tank, which are all faithful Hollywood-isms. It would've been better to simply focus on the characters and their gritty survival story. How about a deeper examination of individuals reduced to basic necessities? What about a study of people stripped of all civilized influences, struggling with the animalistic side of their psyche, as depicted in the excellent "Sands of the Kalahari" (1965)? How about the immaterial yet palpable bond of love which unites and gives life even in the worst possible conditions? There's some of this, of course, but I wanted it to go deeper, like in "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965). One thought-provoking scene concerns a man seeking to join the ever-growing group in the woods wherein he is asked what he does in order to determine how best to utilize his skills. He ponders it a moment and replies that he's "an intellectual." There's of course little use for an intellectual in such a forest community. The region was largely agrarian and so the peasant-types were skilled in at least one practical area as farmers, craftsmen or laborers. But what use was an "intellectual"? How many of us are intellectuals and would largely be useless in such a scenario? We'd learn new skills real quick, huh? So the picture works on a what-if level: How long will our present society endure as it is before many of us are forced to live primitively in the sticks? If that happens, I hope you're more than just "an intellectual." "Defiance" is worthwhile if the survival-in-the-woods plot piques your interest. It's superior to the similar "Tears of the Sun" (2003), but IMHO not quite as good as "Hornet's Nest" (1970) and "Sands of the Kalahari," although it's not far off. The movie runs 2 hours, 17 minutes. GRADE: B/B-
swiewior
Historically incorrect, Jewish propaganda. Jewish guerilla were not war heros and did not fight Nazi. Instead, they collaborated with Russian underground, stole properties from the villagers and farms for their needs and reselling for Russians. During these robberies they committed unspeakable crimes, leaving them with no chances to survive. They were no heroes to tell stories about, they were war criminals.
CinemaSerf
Two Jewish brothers - "Tuvia" (Daniel Craig) and "Zus" (Liev Schreiber) are leading a ramshackle group of escapees from the Nazis into the depths of the Belorussian forest. With little food and weapons, their imperative is to try and build some sort of shelter to see them through the harsh winter whilst trying to find allies to help them survive. This is no mean feat, with hundreds of mouths to feed, and it sorely tests the faith of many and the resilience of their commander who is increasingly at odds with his more pro-active brother. It's "Zus" who finally decides to leave and join the approaching Red Army battalion and that leaves "Tuvia" and another brother "Asael" (Jamie Bell) with quite a challenge as sickness and starvation loom. This isn't a particularly well written drama, nor is Craig really that great either. What works here is the sense of desperation that Edward Zwick manage to present us with. The dense forest, the snow, the wind, the darkness and the wolves. The drudgery of these ordinary people reduced to living little better than animals facing a relentless foe that is bent on an irrational plan of slaughter. Tomas Arana does quite well, if sparingly, as the Soviet commander who is suspicious of his Jewish (traditionally non-combatant) cohort and who is also, clearly, a man who probably ought not to be trusted too far. Just to lighten the mood, the under-used Bell gets a little bit of love interest for when the meagre fires die down of a cold evening. In an environment where it really is live or die, the story touches on issues of collaboration and shows us another hugely effective method employed by their enemy to subdue - and keep subdued - a population ill-equipped to survive hand-to-mouth. It is too long - half an hour could come out without savaging the plot, but it's still worth a watch. Just keep a blanket nearby.
Movie Recommendation
Valkyrie2008-12-25Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.More...
The Great Raid2005-08-12As World War II rages, the elite Sixth Ranger Battalion is given a mission of heroic proportions: push 30 miles behind enemy lines and liberate over 500 American prisoners of war.More...
Empties2007-03-08Czech literature teacher Josef Tkaloun, who is past retirement age, realises one day that he no longer understands his pupils, and so he quits… dramatically. What he does not predict is that in doing this he will lose his sense of place in society.More...
Biloxi Blues1988-03-25Eugene, an aspiring writer from Brooklyn, is drafted into the US Army during the final months of World War II. For his basic training, the Army sends him to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where toil, bad food, and antisemitic jibes await. Eugene takes refuge in his sense of humor and in his diary, but they won't protect him in a battle of wills with an unstable drill sergeant.More...
Leberkäsjunkie2019-08-01While dealing with a burnt-down house, smelly diapers and brutal lack of sleep, a Lower Bavarian police officer faces his worst adversary: cholesterol.More...
Diner1982-04-02Set in 1959, Diner shows how five young men resist their adulthood and seek refuge in their beloved Diner. The mundane, childish, and titillating details of their lives are shared. But the golden moments pass, and the men shoulder their responsibilities, leaving the Diner behind.More...
Tenants2018-11-02A couple arrives to an apartment complex where santeria and witchcraft are common practice.More...
The Scapegoat2012-09-09In 1952, as England prepares for the coronation, two very different men have one thing in common—a face.More...
Charlie's Country2013-10-12Blackfella Charlie is getting older, and he's out of sorts. The intervention is making life more difficult on his remote community, what with the proper policing of whitefella laws that don't generally make much sense, and Charlie's kin and ken seeming more interested in going along with things than doing anything about it. So Charlie takes off, to live the old way, but in doing so sets off a chain of events in his life that has him return to his community chastened, and somewhat the wiser.More...
Sarpatta Parambarai2021-07-22When Sarpatta Parambarai is challenged to a do-or-die match, Kabilan, a young labourer, must choose whether to put on the gloves himself and lead his clan to victory, or be dissuaded by his disapproving mother and dangerous politics.More...
If I Had Wings2013-12-01Alex, blind since the age of two, dreams of running for his school's cross-country team. His father, a probation officer, finds a running partner who spends his time 'running' from the law.More...
Warsaw Uprising2014-05-09It tells the story of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 through the eyes of a US airman, escaper from the Nazi Stalag camp and two young reporters, cameramen for the Bureau of Information and Propaganda of the Polish Home Army. Their mission: documenting the Uprising by shooting newsreels for the “Palladium” cinema. Looking for the right shots, they go deeper and deeper – literally and figuratively – into the heart of the Uprising. Traumatic truth becomes obvious. Aware of being witnesses of indescribable events, they realize their duties: to document them and preserve the rolls of film at any cost…More...
Uprising2001-11-04In the Warsaw ghetto in 1943, Jews rise against the Nazis.More...
How to Train Your Husband2018-06-19A marriage therapist attempts to fix her own marriage by focusing on how to change her husband.More...
Kill Mode2020-03-17It is the year 2027, eight years after the first outbreak of The Sickness, a highly contagious, adaptive and lethal virus. The world is now run by a pharmaceutical corporation called The Company, which distributes a treatment for the virus but charges a high price for it, putting the majority of people in a state of poverty and dependence.More...
Cloud 92006-01-01Has-been sports promoter Billy Cole gets a second shot at fame and fortune when he puts together a women's volleyball team, comprised of exotic dancers...More...
Scream Week2016-01-28Six friends go to party for a week during the "Sneekweek". But they are haunted by a secret from their past.More...
Faster Than Rabbits2014-01-01Three friends awake after a stormy party in a totally unfamiliar place in the company of strangers and try to understand how they got here, who are these people and what really happened on the eve of ...More...
Half Moon2006-08-21Mamo, an old and legendary Kurdish musician living in Iran, plans to give one final concert in Iraqi Kurdistan. After seven months of trying to get a permit and rounding up his ten sons, he sets out for the long and troublesome journey in a derelict bus, denying a recurring vision of his own death at half moon. Halfway the party halts at a small village to pick up female singer Hesho, which will only add to the difficulty of the undertaking, as it is forbidden for Iranian women to sing in public, let alone in the company of men. But Mamo is determined to carry through, if not for the gullible antics of the bus driver.More...
Burnt Money2000-05-11Set in Argentina in 1965, the story follows the tumultuous relationship between two men who became lovers and ultimately ruthless bank robbers in a notoriously famous footnote in the annals of crime history. After a large-scale hold-up that turns bloody, the two men must flee. It is not long before the police are surrounding the building they are in and they must confront their demons to survive.More...
Similar Movies
Fight Club
1999-10-15A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.The Poseidon Adventur...
1972-12-01When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.Fat Girl
2001-03-07Anaïs is twelve and bears the weight of the world on her shoulders. She watches her older sister, Elena, whom she both loves and hates. Elena is fifteen and devilishly beautiful. Neither more futile, nor more stupid than her younger sister, she cannot understand that she is merely an object of desire. And, as such, she can only be taken. Or had. Indeed, this is the subject: a girl's loss of virginity. And, that summer, it opens a door to tragedy.To Kill a Mockingbird...
1962-12-20Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.The Matrix
1999-03-31Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.The Matrix Reloaded
2003-05-15The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.The Matrix Revolution...
2003-11-05The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.Downfall
2004-09-16In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.The Bodyguard
1992-11-25A former Secret Service agent grudgingly takes an assignment to protect a pop idol who's threatened by a crazed fan. At first, the safety-obsessed bodyguard and the self-indulgent diva totally clash. But before long, all that tension sparks fireworks of another sort, and the love-averse tough guy is torn between duty and romance.Soldier of Orange
1977-09-22The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.Overlord
2018-11-01France, June 1944. On the eve of D-Day, some American paratroopers fall behind enemy lines after their aircraft crashes while on a mission to destroy a radio tower in a small village near the beaches of Normandy. After reaching their target, the surviving paratroopers realise that, in addition to fighting the Nazi troops that patrol the village, they also must fight against something else.Hitler's Forgotten Vi...
1997-10-02The story of black and mixed race people in Nazi Germany who were sterilised, experimented upon, tortured and exterminated in the Nazi concentration camps. It also explores the history of German racism and examines the treatment of Black prisoners-of-war. The film uses interviews with survivors and their families as well as archival material to document the Black German Holocaust experience.The Lamp Still Burns
1943-11-29A tribute to the important work of female nurses during World War II.Sounds of War
1976-03-07Bardhi, an orphan boy, goes to the city to work in the house of a rich man, where he learns how to play the violin.The Last Metro
1980-09-17In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.The Front
1976-09-17A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.Michael Collins
1996-10-25Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.Captain America: The ...
2011-07-22During World War II, Steve Rogers is a sickly man from Brooklyn who's transformed into super-soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Rogers must stop the Red Skull – Adolf Hitler's ruthless head of weaponry, and the leader of an organization that intends to use a mysterious device of untold powers for world domination.To End All Wars
2001-09-02Based on a real-life story, this drama focuses on a small group of Allied soldiers in Burma who are held captive by the Japanese. Capt. Ernest Gordon, Lt. Jim Reardon and Maj. Ian Campbell are among the military officers kept imprisoned and routinely beaten and deprived of food. While Campbell wants to rebel and attempt an escape, Gordon tries to take a more stoic approach, an attitude that proves to be surprisingly resonant.Au Revoir les Enfants...
1987-10-07Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.