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Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Alan Corduner ... see more see more... , Mark Feuerstein , Tomas Arana , Jodhi May , Kate Fahy , Iddo Goldberg , Iben Hjejle , Martin Hancock , Ravil Isyanov , Jacek Koman , George MacKay , Jody O'neill , Sam Spruell , Mia Wasikowska , Mark Margolis , Markus von Lingen , Rolandas Boravskis

Inspired by a true story, director Edward Zwick's epic World War II drama Defiance tells the tale of three Jewish Eastern European brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell) who narrowly ... read more read more...escape certain death at the hands of the Nazis, subsequently vowing to avenge the deaths of their loves ones by launching a desperate battle against the forces that seek to exterminate their entire race. The year is 1941, and the setting is Nazi-occupied Belarus. The Final Solution is in full effect, and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being slaughtered wholesale. Tuvia (Craig), Zus (Schreiber), and Asael (Bell) have miraculously managed to escape into the dense surrounding forest. Having played in these woods since childhood, the brothers have a distinct advantage over their adversaries, and soon decide that simply surviving is not enough. In order to make a difference, they must take action, but in order to take action they will need support. As whispers of their bravery take wind, others like them appear determined to lay their lives on the line for the cause of freedom. Tuvia has become the de facto leader of the group, but he's still somewhat reluctant to take on such a heavy responsibility and his brother Zus expresses concern that his idealistic plan will ultimately bring about the group's downfall. With winter setting in, everyone works to create a functioning community that will help them endure the frigid months that lie ahead, and Asael reluctantly finds himself caught in the crossfire of his older siblings' rivalry. Is it possible to keep faith alive in a time when the world seems devoid of humanity and survival becomes a way of life? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

73% liked it

242,417 ratings

Critics

57% liked it

178 critics

R, 2 hr. 16 min.

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Release Date: January 16, 2009

Keywords: action, war, overwhelming

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DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (14,025)

  • fb1378820053
    April 13, 2012
    fb1378820053
    While Defiance has some Brutal Battle scenes and Charismatic performances from Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell it lacks an emotional punch and suffers from a plotless storyline.
  • fb1463751009
    March 10, 2012
    fb1463751009
    I wanted to love this movie. The plot, the actors, the setting, all seemed to be the perfect setup for a gripping and dramatic film. Edward Zwick directed this movie and he tends to take sensitive topics and throw in blockbuster action scenes. It almost gave the movie an artifici... read moreal feeling. Not only that, the follow-up to the ending was dreadfully simplistic with very weak character development. There is one scene noteworthy that really brings out Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber's acting performance, other than that, this movie lacks.
  • ironclad1609
    January 25, 2012
    ironclad1609
    If you were trying to find a way to bash this film you could say that it is about people running and hiding through the same kind of forest for two hours. That would not do the film any justice, of course, even if it is visually somewhat repetitive. The true story of three Beloru... read moressian brothers who take it into their own hands to safe as many Jews from the Nazi occupation as possible, by hiding in the woods. Especially the relationship between the reasonable leader Daniel Craig and hot-tempered Liev Schreiber makes the movie interesting even through a couple of slow passages. It also raises interesting questions about the nature of resistance and revenge in its different aspects. The action-packed showdown is really exciting, because those characters have grown on you by then. An enthralling and very entertaining unknown chapter of WW2 history.
  • fb701560354
    November 29, 2011
    fb701560354
    Despite a great and inspiring story, and wonderful actors and director, it's hard to think that Defiance wouldn't be great, but the reality is not quite so positive. The cinematography is extremely gorgeous: shot on location in Lithuania. The actors do a good job (except for Da... read moreniel Craig who can't seen to keep his accent), and James Newton Howard provides an intense, powerful score that should have won the Best Soundtrack Oscar, but the screenplay is cliched, and the film doesn't have any depth or emotional gravity to be powerful and involving.
  • Julie
    September 19, 2011
    Julie
    Well acted and interesting. And the dirtier Daniel Craig gets, the bluer his eyes look. Just sayin'.
  • moonrivers
    September 19, 2011
    moonrivers
    Two Jewish brothers square off over the Nazi problem: one believes to fight fire with more fire, the other seeks the road less travelled. In the balance hangs the lives of escapees from the Jewish ghettoes. Predictably inspiring.
  • bbcfloridabound
    September 7, 2011
    bbcfloridabound
    This movie is based on a true story, which is very moving, its WWII and the Germans are killing Jews and two brothers take to the thick forest and build a camp and start taking in other Jews hiding and fleeing for their lives. Along the way they take revenge for the killing of th... read moreeir parents and also they protect themselves from other Jews. The Story Alone is worth 4 stars.
  • hunterjt13
    August 23, 2011
    hunterjt13
    Two Jewish brothers fight Nazis from a forest hideaway, which is quickly populated by refugees.
    What I liked about this film was that it has some complexity. Though I think the theme remains unexplored, there is a real moral question that divides the brothers Bielski: when does ... read morekilling and war become morally wrong even in the face of depravity? Yes, it eventually degrades into a basic war film, but the moments when the uncertainly militant Tuvia confronts the boorish Zus create compelling drama.
    Also, I thought the action sequences were well-done, thrilling even though they're largely predictable.
    Daniel Craig's performance is quite strong and understated, his character written in the lines of his face, and the normally too-stoic, placid Liev Schreiber delivers some heart-wrenching scenes, especially when he learns of his family's death.
    I didn't like the film's anti-intellectual vein. Intellectuals are portrayed as mostly useless and foolhardy, especially during the climactic battle sequence.
    I also thought there were too many scenes of refugees standing under trees, which adversely affected the film's pace.
    Overall, this is a compelling true story that puts to bed the myth that Holocaust victims went quietly and placidly; some of them were just as bad-ass as James Bond.
  • fb732260458
    May 10, 2011
    fb732260458
    A solid survival story with the always-motivating Daniel Craig at the helm, Defiance drags on for a little too long, and doesn't offer enough gripping drama to compensate for this flaw. However - it was filmed entirely in the gorgeous forests of my home country of Lithuania - and... read more for that fact alone I recommend this film. If anything - it serves as a visual tour-guide to the lovely forestry of Eastern Europe!
  • DreamExtractor
    April 23, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Defiance is a great tale, it just wasn't a great movie. The goods about the movie: the music was incredible, the acting from Craig and the other was very good, and the dramatic and intense moments are truly heartwrenching. The bad: the story gets very long and boring as the mov... read moreie goes on because nothing is happening, I think the historical accuracy is a little sketchy, I think nere the end they tried making a Holocaust movie into an action movie. Overall, dont get me wrong I really liked this, but I had too many problems to say it was great.

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Critic Reviews

Ben Lyons
January 20, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

The way Zwick force-feeds his audience emotion becomes laborious. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
January 20, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

I felt like these characters were prototypes and not people. Full Review

Peter Rainer
January 16, 2009
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

As a piece of historical redress, a great service has been done in bringing this narrative to the screen. Full Review

Peter Howell
January 16, 2009
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

It's understandable and laudable that they desire not to sensationalize the Bielskis, and they've made a worthy film. But their understated approach makes the struggle seem less urgent than it must su... Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 16, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's difficult, perhaps impossible, to make a gripping 137-minute epic about people standing around under the trees. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
January 16, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

It is, all in all, a film as square-shouldered as its leads -- tough-minded, forcibly acted and conventionally spun by Zwick and co-writer Clayton Frohman. Full Review

Liam Lacey
January 16, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

What is puzzling is how Edward Zwick has taken an extraordinary real-life story about a handful of people who defied huge odds, and turned it into an utterly conventional war movie. Full Review

Tom Long
January 16, 2009
Tom Long, Detroit News

The story is inspirational; the movie isn't. Full Review

Andrea Gronvall
January 16, 2009
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

Zwick, intent on correcting the perception of Jews as passive victims, lets the action set pieces overwhelm the more intimate scenes, several of which are already diminished by stilted dialogue. Full Review

Ty Burr
January 16, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

What the Bielski brothers did in the forests of Belorussia deserves to be remembered and celebrated, but this glossy studio production robs them of life. It's not just new Holocaust stories that we ne... Full Review

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    • Asael Bielski: As long as I am leader you will obey me.
    • Shimon Haretz: Yes. You annoy me, therefore I exist.
    • Asael Bielski: Nothing is impossible, what we all have done is impossible!
  • Freedom begins with an act of defiance!
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