Defiance (2008)

“Nothing is impossible, what we all have done is impossible!” – Asael Bielski

Number of Times Seen – Twice (1 Jan 2009 and 3 Dec 2020)

Brief Synopsis – After the Nazi’s take over Belarus, a band of three brothers who survived take to the forest and help set up a Jewish Partisan Unit to defend themselves.

My Take on it – This is a film that I saw not long after it came out and really enjoyed the way that they portray this true story.

They don’t shy away from showing the various internal and external conflicts that these characters have while trying to save their own lives along with countless other Jews who has fled to the safety of the forest.

They do a wonderful job developing each of the three main characters and allow each to have unique personalities and ideas which helps make this story even more fascinating to watch.

The film has a superb cast with Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell as the three brothers.

Each of them have different thoughts on how to fight their enemies while also trying to hold on to their humanity along the way.

The fact that this film is based on a true story adds so much more to things because we get to see how powerful some of the scenes are when knowing that it really happened (or at least a non-Hollywood version of these events).

Unlike most films that take place around this time, they are able to show how some of the people took an active part on the resistance against the Nazis and their minions.

Bottom Line – Great story that works due to the way that they present both the internal and external conflicts of this story. The characters are developed well and allow us to care about what will happen to them along the way. The cast is superb with Craig, Schreiber and Bell all giving great performances as these brothers. The film is able to show the different opinions and methods of each of these characters in finding a way to keep up the fight against the Nazis while trying to hold on to their humanity. The fact that this is based on real events makes things even more powerful to watch. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – George MacKay was sixteen years old when he appeared in this film, and director Edward Zwick would later tell Sam Mendes, who directed MacKay in 1917 (2019), how very impressed he was by the young actor because on his way to the film set in Lithuania from the airport, MacKay was injured in a car accident that left him with a blackened eye he could barely open, yet he was “so game” to immediately start shooting his first scene. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)