Running time: 137 minutes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Allan Corduner, Jodhi May
Rating 4 out of 10
When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 they brought anti-Semitism with them on a cruel scale, and the Jews that had contentedly lived in states such as the Ukraine, Lithuania and Belorussia were subjected to some of the most dispiriting atrocities of the Second World War. Much has been written on these events, including Nechama Tec's book which has now been turned into what Hollywood likes to call a major motion picture event. The reality is that this is a major turkey of a film: completely unsure of what it wants to be and one that shoehorns in some of the worst cliches Hollywood has to offer when tackling such a sensitive subject.
The Bielski family (here portrayed as three brothers played by Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) were real-life Jewish rebels who fought back against the Nazis from the depths of the Belorussian forests. They saved thousands of their fellow Jews by sheltering them in makeshift camps, forming alliances with the Russians and launching Blitzkrieg-style raids on the Germans for supplies.
There is a good film to be made on the subject but Defiance is not it. A woeful script is ridden with clunky dialogue and dreadful stereotypes, often embarrassing romantic scenes, costumes that suggest that everyone has been on a shopping spree to Next, and it's all underpinned by a sickly sweet and very obvious score.
Writer, producer and director Ed Zwick has a lot to answer for. When Hollywood tackles this subject with truth and integrity - as it did in Schindler's List - the world takes notice. But when the results are this hackneyed, it demeans the memories of those that it is trying to commemorate.
Paul Hurley
