Tag Archives: world-war-II

Defiance (DVD)

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Edward Zwick has always been one of my favorite directors because of his uncanny ability to mix action with drama so well. Filled with heavy dramatic action, conflicts, and historical references, Zwick’s The Last Samurai and Glory instantly come to mind when I think of his best work, and Defiance easily fits into this group of films.

Based on a true story, Defiance shares a slice of history not known to most : the Jewish resistance. Most of what we are taught in schools speak about the Jewish persecution and German death camps of World War II, but rarely do we hear about the brave men and women who fought for their freedom rather than simply handing their lives to Hitler. Defiance shares this story with us. The film starts with a group of four brothers (Bielski’s) who lose their family during Hitler’s infamous Holocaust, and escape German persecution by disappearing into the extensive forests of Belorussia. As time passes, their hidden camp becomes a refuge for more and more Jewish men and women, and eventually this small band of refugees become known simply as the Bielski Partisans.

The story itself was quite gripping and told well, but it was the acting that truly made this film a great feature. Daniel Craig (Tuvia Bielski) who stars as the eldest of the Bielski Brothers brings to the table a very stoic persona, who is driven by his affection and love for his people. His will is strained and tested many times throughout, and this brings forth some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from Craig. Liev Schreiber, who portrays Zus Bielski, was an absolute beast in this film. Fearless and revengeful, his character brings a totally different aspect to the table. I thought that he clearly stole the show in every scene he was in, yet it was the contrasting characteristics of both Tuvia and Zus that truly made for some interesting dialogue and drama.

Overall, this film was solid in every aspect. However, there were several elements that did bother me, particularly in regard to the unrealistic ending and several cliche one liners which didn’t seem to fit at all. Yet despite those drawbacks, I thought the film got its message across. Defiance is definitely not your run of the mill Holocaust features and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

Valkyrie (Theaters)

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When I first saw the previews for this movie, it immediately grabbed my attention. World War II films are fairly common, however Valkyrie was original in that it told the story of the fight against Hitler from a viewpoint within the Nazi ranks. The inclusion of Tom Cruise was also an added bonus, not exactly for his acting ability, but more for the fact that the quality level of projects he is associated with is usually top notch.  Factor in a Christmas Day release, usually saved for the best holiday blockbusters, and this film had all the makings of a hit.

Let me just preface by saying that this movie is not an action movie by any means. While I didn’t go into the theater expecting Jason Statham to be kicking people through windows, I did expect a bit more focus on action.  The lack of action is not a bad thing, however, the previews can be a bit misleading.

The story focuses on a group of officers in Hitler’s army who have taken it upon themselves to assassinate Hitler and reclaim Germany from the grip of the Nazis. It portrays the German army as being divided into two groups: those that willingly support Hitler and those that oppose Hitler but support him out of fear.  While the actual plot of Valkyrie is decent, it is this dynamic between supporters and conspirators that is really the highlight and main focus of the entire film.  Often times in movies, the Germans are portrayed as malicious Nazis all sharing a single consciousness hell bent on world domination and genocide.  In this film, we see that Germans are people too, and like many groups at the time were forced to support the Nazis regardless of their personal beliefs. 

Perhaps the biggest gripe many people will have with this film is the casting of Tom Cruise.  Although he maintains his essential “Tom Cruiseness” as he does in every movie, after a while it becomes less and less noticeable as you become more enveloped in the story that is unfolding. This is important to note, as he doesn’t exactly flex his acting muscles, ( or whatever acting muscles he has) his perforance is good enough that his character is both believable AND Tom Cruise without venturing into “Keanu Reeves” territory.

While actual historical events will keep the plot somewhat predictable, the story manages to maintain tension throughout, as the risk and consequences of being caught is ever present up until the movie’s ending.  The supporting cast is comprised of strong character actors who most people will not recognize any more than a simple “wasn’t he so and so in that other movie?”.  However in this film, the supporting cast performs excellently. 

Those who go into this movie expecting an action packed blockbuster will be sorely disappointed. Those who venture in with an open mind and a desire to gain insight into the most notorious government and dictator in human history will definitely learn alot from this film.  Overall the movie is well made with a decent plot, however the average movie goer may be a bit bored as some sections of the movie tend to drag a bit and the action is minimal.  History buffs will definitely enjoy this film as the amount of detail given to portray the priod accurately is noticeable immediately.  While not the best film to come out this holiday season, it is fairly interesting and entertaining throughout, with only a few exceptions.

Flags of our Fathers (DVD)

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flagsofourfathers1_largeI heard quite a number of good things about Flags of our Fathers when it was released last year, but I missed a theater screening of it. I ended up watching Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima first. Maybe this was the wrong thing to do because after viewing the films out of order, my opinion is that Letters from Iwo Jima was far more moving than Flags. I thought that the storyline from Letters was much more cohesive.

Unlike Letters which focused primarily on the actual war on Iwo Jima, Flags examined several different aspects of the conflict. The film would jump back and forth from the United States mainland and all its propaganda surrounding the war, then back to the island itself. This caused quite a bit of confusion for me. I could never get a good grip of the flow of the story because of the constant “flashbacks” and sudden transitions. The characters never quite made that connection to the viewer, and the acting was good but nothing memorable.

What makes this film a worthwhile rental is its realism and message behind the movie. Otherwise the screenplay was poorly written and you could probably skip this film and still enjoy watching its superior “partner” film, Letters from Iwo Jima.

In February, 1945, one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific theater of World War II occurs on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Thousands of Marines attack the stronghold maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the slaughter on both sides is horrific. Early in the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, and a photograph of the raising becomes an American cause celebre. As a powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their own personal realizations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the singling out they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph.