Defiance"On the run and hiding in the deep forests of the then German occupied Poland and Belorussia (World War II), the three Bielski brothers find the impossible task of foraging for food and weapons for their survival. They live, not only with the fear of discovery, contending with neighboring Soviet partisans and knowing whom to trust but also take the responsibility of looking after a large mass of fleeing Polish Jews from the German war machine. Women, men, children, the elderly and the young alike are all hiding in makeshift homes in the dark, cold and unforgiving forests in the darkest times of German occupied Eastern Europe."4.5 StarsThis is what a film should be. From top to bottom, this is one of the best film’s I have seen in a long time. There are so many layers and aspects to the story that come together beautifully.
It has sort of a Lord of the Flies feel to it, except this story is actually true and not about children. It could almost be a study in sociological behavior. What happens when everything is taken away from you by an evil adversary? How far would you go to survive? Would the situation actually arise where it might be necessary to sacrifice your own humanity to save the lives of others? These questions and many more just scratch the surface of the moral dilemma that permeates through the plot of Defiance.
I really felt like this could have been a novel because there were so many different story lines. The most obvious was the nature of humanity and its perseverance in the form of a community. These were real people and no one was perfect. Mistakes were made by everyone even Tavia (Daniel Craig). So many times in movies we are used to seeing the infallible leader who may have a slight crisis of confidence, but conveniently enough is able to overcome it just before his defining moment. That isn’t really the case here. Tavia actually falters in several of his key moments and falters BIG, but his brothers are able to pick up the slack when it’s needed and the group pushes on, the group does the only thing it can do, it survives.
I think there are an endless number of topics that can be debated on what occurred in these majestic woods. Just how far do people need to go in order to survive when they are being persecuted by a tormenter that has absolutely no regard for their life? Is that even a valid question? Should the immediate response be that there is no limit? As sophisticated as we may like to think we have become as a society, we all have basic animal instincts for survival and that may be one of the few times that our true characters are exposed. At one point, Tuvia shoots and kills a man in front of the group because he was conspiring against him. First off, the situation is much more complicated than it sounds so you have to see the movie. But in this case I think the military state he had created in this community was necessary. Any faction or flicker of fracture within the leadership may have had devastating effects on the morale of the group and, in turn, their future. And it’s easy for us to debate the fact now, when we are so far removed from it. Truth is, these people stared into the face of death everyday and had only one choice, to lower their heads at death and move forward.
Another intriguing aspect was that of the Baglia brothers and their family dynamic. They were brothers in every sense of the word, but had plenty of both similar and conflicting ideologies. Tuvia was more concerned about maintaining a sense of humanity while Zus wanted revenge (and rightfully so) for a slaughtered wife and daughter. But in the end, their mutual respect for one another led them in different paths, but helped them to learn crucial lessons.
The character study in this movie was just amazing. There wasn’t enough time to delve into the complexity that was these people lives and emotions. One of the first things to be wiped away was social status, they were no longer poor or rich, educated or not, spiritual or apathetic, they were just people who came together in an effort to survive. And no one, to me, was predictable. They were so human. Yes, as in real life, you can tell when certain people will make particular choices over others, but that wasn’t always the case here. I couldn’t fit any particular character into a box and stick a label on them because it was too hard. Just when you thought you had a character pegged, they would do or say something that just left your head spinning. You start to think about what you may have done, but I think that’s impossible. Seeing what these people lived through is so harrowing that I don’t think anyone could walk a mile in their shoes.
The movie hit all the aspects of basic human nature like food, shelter, community, and love. But one area that I thought wasn’t touched on enough was sex. Now before you think I just wanted to be a voyeuristic horn dog, hear me out. It is actually touched on (ever so slightly) in the movie a couple of times, but it is never really explored. Pregnancies were forbidden in the group. Now, that may sound harsh, but it was necessary because they could not accommodate a child in their surroundings. But some of the undertones hinted that they were having sex. And they HAD to be. They were in the forest for 3 years and it’s only human nature to want to act on sexual desires, especially when your existence seems to be getting continually more primal. On character does mention briefly that “She knows what it expected of the women.” But that is all that is said. I honestly think the movie would have been a little more well rounded if the physical relationship between the men and women was explored a little more. Even the emotional side was only touched on enough to satisfy a need for the audience to have hope.
Anyway, by the length of my review so far, I bet you can tell that I could probably go on and on about this because there is so much to discuss, but I will spare you and let you decide for yourself. In closing I will touch on the only real objections I had to the movie, and there weren’t many. Some critics have come out saying that some of the details were left out concerning the possible brutality that the Briglias implemented to raid from the local farms. I don’t think it’s that big a deal, though. This wasn’t a documentary; it was a movie with the purpose of telling a story and, in that, I think they fully succeeded. The final battle scene did feel a little forced a couple times and a little predictable, but that happens. By far the rest of the movie does not feel formulaic and I think that is what is so refreshing.
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