‘Defiance’ Movie Review

January 20, 2009 - 8 Comments

by Jim Barnes

Last Saturday, I saw ‘Defiance’ at the Cinema here in Morgantown along with one of my sons and a fellow reenactor. It was money well spent. Daniel Craig (the latest James Bond) and Liev Schreiber head a talented cast in an intense and well-made film. They portray two of the four Bielski brothers, who set up a forest refuge for Jews escaping the Nazi ghettos in surrounding Belorussian towns and cities, as well as conducting partisan raids against the German rear areas sometimes in concert with Red Army partisans. (The 1980s Soviet movie, ‘Come and See’ also dealt with partisan activities in Belorussia.)

According to the Internet Movie Database, the film was shot near the actual scene of the Bielski camp, but over the border in neighboring Lithuania. There is certainly no glamorizing of the partisan life here. These people are frequently cold, hungry and sick, but they manage to maintain the resolve to resist.

For reenactors, the film definitely has an authentic feel. Special effects are good throughout. The costuming and accouterments look good and the equipment is on the money. The Bielskis start out with a small accumulation of captured German weapons and some Mosin-Nagants. Later on, they acquire Ppsh-41s and the odd DP-28. Those would be my picks under those circumstances! Also, for the German reenactors out there, check out the Pzkw III which shows up near the end of the movie. I’m guessing that it is a reproduction but I think it looks pretty good.

I recommend this movie. One reviewer seemed disappointed that it had elements of a traditional war movie. I don’t think any of the readers here are going to have a problem with that. Actually, there is a lot in this film for a variety of viewers and I think the director and cast packed in about as much character development and underlying themes as possible without making the movie four hours long.

I liked it!

Come and See (1985)

If you are interested in ‘Come and See,’ check out these links:

Jewish Partisans

For more information on Jewish partisans (Thanks Stacy!) see: http://www.jewishpartisans.org

Filed Under: Films, Reviews, WWII

Tags: Belorussia, daniel craig, Films, German Reenacting, liev schreiber, red army, Russian partisans, Russian Reenacting, WWII

Comments (8)

Patricia Patterson

January 25th, 2009 at 9:41 pm

Hey All,

I saw “Defiance” a week or so ago.

A few years back, some of us had a conversation about reenactors and movies. It was agreed that reenactors were the worst people to see period movies with due to the fact that we were there to look at uniforms, firearms, historical reference and clothing.

Well, nothing has changed.

I actually enjoyed the movie, the firearms were neat and I thought the costumes were done well.

The only thing I noticed that made me go “Oh ahh…” was the reference to “ampicillian”. I think ampicillian was a post-war development. I still haven’t looked it up, but it did make me wonder who did fact-checking.

Anyway, I would say go see the film, it’s well worth the trip.

Regards,
Patricia

Jim Barnes

January 25th, 2009 at 11:09 pm

Patricia,

I wondered about that at the time myself, but had forgotten to look it up. If you turn up anything, please post it. Thanks.

Jim

Misha

January 28th, 2009 at 3:55 am

Hello Jim and Patricia,
I haven’t seen this movie as of yet but am planning on going with my other half soon.
Since my shoulder injury, I’ve been on light duty and assisting in our health systems department of infection control. While penicillin had been officially discovered by Scottsman Mr. Flemming in England in 1928 (though evidence loosely suggests it was likely discovered in 1875 and dismissed)it went into big time production during the war and was the drug of choice in fighting bacterial infections of the Gram Positive rod variety…bored yet? Ampicillin didn’t go into widespread use until 1961 so a faux pas to the technical editors of this movie. Even if it was around (and often in other countries certain drugs can go by other names ie: Acetaminophen or Tylenol going by Panadol) I doubt this was the case and even moreso given the setting of the events in this movie.
If anyone else out there has evidence to the contrary, then please correct me and the texts I used to research this info.
Your back up medic, and soldat – Misha

Jim Barnes

January 28th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

It might be interesting to see what they were using to treat typhus at that time and compare. Obviously, they made a miststep on that one though.

Misha

January 28th, 2009 at 11:49 pm

Hello again Jim,
Typhus was apparently rampant in eastern Europe and the ghettos and concentration camps. It is a Rickettsia (gram positive rod) and spread via infected fleas and lice. I believe care would have been more palliative in treating this one as Tetracycline and derivatives weren’t discovered/developed till the latter 40′s and up into the 60′s as in Doxycycline and such.
Your medical editor, Misha
Say, do I get a badge for this one??!

Jim Barnes

January 29th, 2009 at 7:44 am

Misha,

Good work. There should be a badge for it! We’ll have to look at the Gap. I was thinking of following this up in a little more detail, so this is helpful. Thanks.

Misha

January 30th, 2009 at 11:23 pm

Jim,
Oksana and I went to see Defiance tonight.
Very moving. It really played on my emotions from the sadness of losing a loved one to the adrenaline rush of combat. The sound effects were right on for me including the cracks and whizzes of rounds passing your ears.
I found myself picking up the Russian well enough. I guess those self paced lessons are paying off. Now to just drink enough vodka to relax and give it a proper go like the beer did for me in Germany and the lack of my sister in law to translate.
This movie goes up there with Schindler’s List for me.
Misha

Jim Barnes

February 3rd, 2009 at 7:26 pm

This is one movie that I will want to get on DVD.

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