Defiance: A Film Review

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

Defiance is a World War II era movie based on the lives of the Bielski Brothers who saved 1,200 Jews in the forests of Belorussia (today known as Belarus). In the summer of 1941, Jews were rounded up in Belorussia, either to be killed or forced into labor camps or the Ghettos. Many escaped and sought refuge with the Bielski Otriad or the Otriad rescued them, but only under the gravest of circumstances. This Otriad kept people alive, trained them to work as a familial unit and to become fighters against the German Nazis.

Tuvia Beilski, the leader of this slowly fledgling Otriad was played spectacularly by actor English  Daniel Craig.  Tuvia’s leadership role included ensuring that everyone in the Otriad pulled his or her own weight. They had to contribute whatever skills they had before the war or learn new ones. In order to make this Otriad survive, he had to enforce even the harsh rules which I will not spoil here. However, this is not a light hearted film. 

Zus Beiliski, played by Liev Schreiber, was the muscle of the Otriad and often butted heads with his older brother. For a while he left to join the October Otriad to fight back the Germans, but he found the antisemitism too much and returned to help the Bielski Otriad. Asael Bielski, the third brother played by Jamie Bell, helped command the Otriad to keep order. 

Even though everyone is afraid of imminent attack from the Germans, people put aside their differences and learn how to become a community. Love is found throughout the Otriad and people’s lives are forever changed. Thanks to the courage, and selfless acts of the Bielski brothers under the leadership of Tuvia, 1,200 Belorussian Jews were blessed with the opportunity to survive and avoid the cruel and inhumane experiences of Nazi Death Camps.

This movie is powerful, emotional and at times bloody as any war movies are portrayed. Yet, this untold story of Jews surviving in the cold bitter harshness of winters, is confounding and truly mesmerizing.

Daniel Craig delivers a phenomenal job as portraying Tuvia Bielski, a man thought to be too harsh of a man; yet he prevailed as a true leader. Daniel’s acting was truly believable; he let his eyes tell the story of how Tuvia Bielski would have felt inside.

Liev Schreiber delivered a fantastic job as a supporting actor. His aggressive style made the harsh realities of war appear right on the screen, and let audiences know that war is cruel and we all must learn how to endure it. Jamie Bell brought in the compassionate side of the film as he showed viewers that throughout hell, love is found in the oddest of circumstances. He also reminds the Otriad while they are escaping the Nazis through the woods, that their survival was thought impossible, therefore anything is possible.

If there is one World War II era movie that deserves a lot of attention it is this one. To find out more about the real story of the Bielski Brothers, read the book by  Nechcama Tec.

Nechcama Tec who wrote such a riveting and harrowing tale was also a Holocaust survivor. If you wish to purchase this book you can at Bookshop.org. She has written several books and you can you can discover more about her life at Jewish Women’s Archive.

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