Defiance

Based on a true story, Defiance stars Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell and is directed by Edward Zwick. The film is an epic tale of family, honour, vengeance and salvation in World War II. The year is 1941 and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being massacred by the thousands. Managing to escape certain death, three brothers take refuge in the dense surrounding woods they have known since childhood. There they begin their dangerous and bloody battle against the Nazis.

It is hard for anyone who plays James Bond to take another project and deliver well on it. You are the face of a multi billion pound brand, and you have to break out of that mould and convince your audience a gadget wont get you out of trouble this time. Craig manages for the first time to break these chains and has a much better role then in Flashbacks of a Fool, his last post Bond Effort.

The supporting cast also had its part to play and the coming of age of Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell help explain the story of the polish Oscar Schindler.

Admittedly he did not build a factory and convince German officers he needed the labour. Instead he led a village of people into the woods around their homeland and tried to keep them alive. He worked as the second world wars Robin Hood and had to fight not just the Nazi war machine but hunger, winter, disease and the Russian Army.

A very long film which at times trails off a little but only touches the tip of the iceberg of what these people went through. A strong will can get you very far when the rest of the world is pushing against you.

DVD Extras

-Director’s Commentary
-Return to the Forest: The Making of Defiance (26mins)
-BD Exclusive: Scoring Defiance (7mins)
-BD Exclusive: Children of the Otriad (13mins)
-BD Exclusive: Bielski Partisan Photo Gallery (as photographed by director Edward Zwick)

~Review by Alex

 

Ad