Defiance (2009)

The Bielski brothers actually exist. And the movie “Defiance” is their story, based on a true account of three Jewish brothers in Poland who saved 1,200 Jews from the Holocaust by hiding and defending them in a Western Belorussian forest for nearly three years.

The brothers are Tuvia, played by Daniel Craig (the new James Bond); Zus, played by Liev Schreiber (The Omen, The Painted Veil); Asael, played by Jamie Bell (the cabin boy in King Kong) and their youngest brother Aron, played by George MacKay (one of the lost boys in Peter Pan). Okay, I know, that’s four brothers. But Aron was a youngster and not a leader of the group.

The story takes place in 1941 Poland, as Germany’s “Final Solution” is underway during World War II. Polish Jews are being rounded up and killed, and the Bielski brothers flee into the forest after their parents are killed and their home is burned to the ground.

There they plan only to survive and perhaps afflict a little bit of vengeance on the town’s police who collaborated with the Nazis. However, they are joined by more and more Jewish refugees, and find themselves taking care of the growing community.

And from this community arose the “Bielski Partisans,” who sometimes partnered with the Russian Army to harass, confound and battle the German Army. The group splits into two factions – one group is led by brother Zus, who enlist with the Russians; the other group, led by Tuvia, tries to survive as a community.

Tuvia and Zus often find their philosophies in open conflict with each other, with their younger brother Asael walking the fine line between them.

Defiance is based on sociologist and Holocaust scholar Nechama Tec’s 1993 book of the same name. It’s not the greatest movie in the world and certainly isn’t of Oscar caliber, but I do recommend that you see it. A little historical education never hurt anyone.

If you’d like to learn more about the Bieleski Partisans and the ultimate fate of the brothers, check out the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielski_partisans.