Defiance (2008)

This movie is based on what is apparently a really powerful unknown story of a family of Belarussian heroes in World War II. Defiance is the tale of the Bielski brothers escape from the Nazi's into the wild, where they join forces with the Russian resistance and eventually create a community of about 1,000 Jewish non-combatants. This was a story from the Western front of WWII that I was completely unfamiliar with, and while I understand that this film cannot be viewed as a documentary, I do feel that it was a decent educational experience. Defiance is really well cast. Daniel Craig is a terrific actor, and does a good job taking on a significant accent as well as removing himself from the James Bond persona. To this point, I have not seen Craig in a single role in which I have not found him successful. Liev Schreiber does a great job in his supporting role, so well in fact that I would have no trouble believing that he and Craig are brothers in real life. Defiance is a really enjoyable movie in a lot of ways. On the one hand, the scenes in which the Bielski brothers clash with the Nazis are really well done and have a lot of cool action. Conversely, Defiance chronicles Daniel Craig's struggles to create and govern a makeshift community trying to survive the harsh Belarussian wilderness in the winter. This is a good film telling a good story that showcases the ability of ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and while I know Hollywood has sensationalized things, I still find what the Bielski brothers did to be remarkable. For one reason or another, I have seen a lot of World War II films recently. While Defiance is definitely not the best one, I would definitely put it on a short list of WWII pictures that are more than worth seeing. My wife did not watch this film with me, but I am pretty sure she would have liked it. This was a good movie that I definitely think is worth a second viewing. I give Defiance 3 and a half stars.