Based on a true story and with some excellent performances, Defiance is well worth a look. The movie is based on a little-known true story about the Bielski Brothers, who were simple farmers turned freedom fighters. The movie tackles stereotypes head-on and is gripping and often compelling. Production values and performances are all first-rate, but the film doesn’t have quite the emotional impact one might expect from such a powerful tale.

Tuvia (an excellent Daniel Craig) and Zus (another good performance by Liev Schreiber) are brothers in Nazi-occupied Poland who create a forest refuge (and eventually a community) for Jews to escape the Nazis. Zus wants revenge while Tuvia is more measured and a natural leader. The camp swells with more and more people and Zus leaves to fight with the Russian army while Tuvia struggles to keep his people alive. Craig is commanding in his role and the acting is generally very good. Widescreen picture quality is top-notch and the audio sounds terrific. There are some very good extras including a commentary by director Ed Zwick and a behind the scenes extra runs around 26 minutes in length. A shorter featurette on the descendents of the Bielski family is extremely emotional and takes the viewer right into their world in a way the emotionally distant movie sometimes does not.

Compelling and watchable, Defiance is a solid motion picture that is never less than engaging. The DVD is good and the extras are solid and effective. The problem is that at times the film plods along and it never sustains the proper emotional impact for such an important true life tale. Defiance is a good rather than great motion picture, but one that is well worth at least a rental, if not a blind buy purchase.

Grade: B

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