Beyond a doubt, this is an inspirational story. How could such a group not only survive for four years against all odds, but thrive as well? Though many died either of the hardships of their living conditions or while protecting the community, more than 1200 Jews were saved from extermination. The descendants of those survivors now number over 19,000, which is the lasting legacy of the Bielskis. All the men and women of the Bielski Otriad are heroes; and, how Tuvia kept them together is truly a miracle.
If you look past the story to the movie itself, it is impossible to ignore the care and passion of the crew in making the film. The acting, costumes, makeup, and special effects added to the whole fabric of the production. Craig and Shreiber were totally believable as brothers, as were Jamie Bell and George MacKay as the younger brothers.
I have to talk about the soundtrack for a moment. James Newton Howard managed to use the strings of a full orchestra to punctuate not only the powerful emotions encountered throughout the story, but to accentuate the quiet of the forest and that eerie calm before the storm that sometimes preceded an attack. The soundtrack never detracted from the movie, but enhanced it for me like few other soundtracks in recent memory.
Beyond director Edward Zwick's commentary on the film, the DVD also included three additional great features. "Defiance: Return to the Forest" focuses on the making of the film and includes comments from the director, producers, actors, and crew.
From the special effects people who created safe, but detailed, replicas of WWII-era weapons for use during some scenes (and an actual rubberized tree for a scene where Zus bashes his head repeatedly after learning of the death of his wife and child) to the costumers' historically-accurate frocks and the makeup artists matching makeup to the color of the dirt in the area for a scene, it's obvious that everyone involved had immense respect for these lives and stories they were trying to capture. Add to that, the language differences between the extras, crew, and cast from multiple countries trying to get a historically accurate amalgam of Russian, German, Polish, and other languages and you get the portrait of the extremely talented and dedicated group of people working on the film.
Article comments
1 - Christine
I watched this film a few weeks ago, very intense!
2 - Shirley Upton
This was the best films ever depicting the Jewish resistance. I was hesitant to watch it, but it was worth it.