Saturday, January 17, 2009

"JEWS DON'T FIGHT." "THESE JEWS DO." The thing about Defiance is that even if Ed Zwick hadn't directed, I think I'd still be calling it Glory II: The Hebrews Strike Back, because there are a lot of parallels -- a previously little-known story of resistance and bravery by an oppressed minority during wartime, learning to take arms against an overwhelming foe, only this time with a happy ending.

It's formula, but as I've written before (Akeelah and the Bee, Drumline, Stick It) I've got no problem with formula as long as it's done well, and Defiance is formula done well on what happened when a few Byelorussian Jews in 1941 stopped being polite and started arming themselves in the woods. If all I tell you beyond that is "the brothers argue about the proper use of force," "it gets cold in the winter," and "the role of women in the resistance is debated," you can probably plot out most the movie. All I can say, then, is that if you were interested in the movie, you should see it and will enjoy it, but it's not essential viewing.

To follow up on my earlier curiosity -- sadly, Feuerstein is indeed designated a role closer to the town baker than a stuttering killer, a pamphleteer assigned lines like "I suppose you could say I was -- I am -- an intellectual" and "If my friends at The Socialist Review could see me now!" while demonstrating a lack of ability with a hammer (paging Freud!). Still, he carries himself with the nobility and good spirit one would expect and, when called upon, acts heroically. (Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber are also good.)

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