Director: Edward Zwick

Starring Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell, Defiance is the true story of three Jewish brothers (Tuvia, Zus and Asael Bielski) trying to survive the Nazis in occupied Eastern Europe.

Fleeing their destroyed farmland, the Bielski brothers escape to the surrounding forests. As word spreads, they are soon joined by other Jews and, finally a community of over 1000 people are sheltering from the Nazi threat.

This is a story of incredible heroism and courage. The sheer act of living in such an inhospitable place is in itself  amazing, but add in the always-present threat from the enemy forces and the story becomes truly inspirational.

Daniel Craig once again brings his ‘hard as nails’ image to the screen as the leader of the community. Ably supported by Jamie Bell, who has one of the more emotional speeches of the film. A rallying cry to the dispossessed near the end, when it looks like all hope is lost. It’s a powerful moment and resonates with the viewer long after the credits roll.

But, it’s Liev Schreiber’s portrayal of Zus Bielski where the real acting chops lie. This is the brother that feels that just surviving isn’t enough and joins with the Russian soldiers to fight the Germans. A thankless task as these fighting Jews are not seen as fellow combatants by their Russian counterparts, only at best expendable and at worst cannon fodder. Liev performance treads a careful line between simmering revenge and his sense of duty to his fellow brothers. Worth watching the film for on it’s own. The dynamic between the three is powerful enough to drive the film along but there is a problem.

There’s a Ray Mears episode that talks of this story. He digs into the background of the survival aspects and even talks to some of the original surviving escapees. It’s an amazing story, well told and rooted firmly in the here and now. If only the Edward Zwick had imbued this film with the same grounding, you can’t help but feel he’d have been onto a winner.

This leads us to the main problem. With Defiance there’s just too much artistic license going on, too many “Hollywood” moments and the sheer size of the forest is never adequately conveyed to the audience . For a place that eventually hides over 1000 people, you feel like the surrounding villages are never more than a few hundred meters away. This feeling of scale is crucial to the story and its absence really undermines the credibility of the film.

It’s a pity as there are some standout scenes and some beautiful camera work. But the high points only further serve to underline the lows,  and overall it makes for  an uneven film.

A gritty  true story that isn’t quite done justice by the movie makeover.

[rating:3]