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"Defiance" is based on the true story of a group of Jews in Belarus who successfully defied the Nazis, hid in the forest and maintained a self-contained society while losing only about 50 of their some 1,200 members. The "Bielski Partisans" represented the war's largest and most successful group of Jewish resisters, although when filmmakers arrived on the actual locations to film the story, they found no local memory of their activities, and, for many reasons, hardly any Jews. Edward Zwick's film shows how they survived, governed themselves, faced ethical questions and how their stories can be suited to the requirements of melodrama.

The story of "Defiance" has all the makings of a deep emotional experience, but I found myself oddly detached. Perhaps that's because most of the action and principal characters are within the group. The Nazis are seen in large part as an ominous threat out there somewhere in the forest, like "Those We Don't Speak Of" in M. Night Shyamalan's " The Village ." Do I require a major Nazi speaking part for the film to work? No, but the drama tends to focus on issues, conflicts and romances within the group, and in that sense could be a very good reality show but lacks the larger dimension of, say, " Schindler's List ."

What the film comes down to is a forest survival story, with a few scenes of Nazis trying to find and to destroy them and a few battle scenes that furnish the trailer and promise more of an action film. The survival story may contain omens for our own time. In the most fearsome of future scenarios, we may all have to survive in the wilderness, and we should be so lucky to have the Bielski brothers to help us. They were farmers, strong, fierce, skilled in survival skills, pragmatic.

The brothers are Tuvia Bielski ( Daniel Craig ), Zus Bielski ( Liev Schreiber ) and Asael ( Jamie Bell ). After they flee from genocide into the forest, others come hoping to join them, and word of their encampment spreads through the refugee underground. Tuvia decides early on that they must take in all Jews, even the helpless ones who cannot contribute; Zus, a firebrand, is less interested in saving Jews than killing Nazis, which he reasons will save more Jews. This conflict -- between helping our side or harming theirs -- is seen even today in the controversy over the invasion of Gaza, with Israel playing the role of the Bielski settlement.

The refugees sort out into leadership and support roles, feed their growing group largely by stealing food, establish such institutions as a hospital, a court, even a tannery. Romance blossoms, which is common in life but indispensable in a movie, and there are tender scenes which are awfully warmly lit and softly scored, under the circumstances. Craig and Schreiber bring conviction to their roles, differing so sharply that they even come to blows before the younger brother leaves to join the Russians (who hate Jews every bit as much as the Nazis do).

Early in the film, there's a scene where a feckless middle-aged man named Shimon Haretz ( Allan Corduner ) hopes to join the group and is asked what he does. He thinks maybe he's ... an intellectual. This is no use to the partisans, although he is allowed to stay. At the time of the story, the region was largely agrarian and peasant, and many were skilled craftsmen, artisans and laborers. I thought, I'm also an ... intellectual. Of what use would I be in the forest? The film works in a way as a cautionary tale. Most of us live in a precarious balance above the bedrock of physical labor. Someday we may all be Shimon Haretz.

The best performance, because it's more nuanced, is by Liev Schreiber. His Zus Bielski is more concerned with the big picture, more ideological, more driven by tactics. Daniel Craig is very effective as Tuvia, the group leader, but his character, perhaps of necessity, is concerned primarily with the organization, discipline and planning of the group. A farmer, he becomes an administrator, chief authority and court of last resort.

As a Nazi observes, not without admiration, the Bielskis set up a self-sustaining village in the wilderness. Their situation is more precarious because they are surrounded by anti-Semites not only from Germany but from Russia and Poland. They cooperate with Soviet forces out of necessity, but cannot delude themselves. Their efforts prevailed, and today there are thousands who would not have been born if they had not succeeded.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Defiance (2009)

Rated R for violence and brief language

137 minutes

Allan Corduner as Shimon Haretz

Alexa Davalos as Lilka

Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski

Liev Schreiber as Zus Bielski

Jamie Bell as Asael Bielski

Directed by

• Edward Zwick
• Clayton Frohman

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Brave brothers risk all in brutal, graphic WWII epic.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Classic good-versus-evil situations. Bravery and s

Most of the characters aren't clearly "good" or "b

Violent battle scenes from beginning to end. Piles

A man's hand touches a woman's breast over her clo

Harsh swearing throughout, including all forms of

Multiple scenes of Russian soldiers, victims, surv

Parents need to know that this war movie isn't for kids. There are many fierce battles and violently graphic killings, as well as executions of unarmed citizens. Other images include hand-to-hand combat, mob beatings, point-blank shootings, and barbaric, inhumane treatment of the Jewish population. The language is…

Positive Messages

Classic good-versus-evil situations. Bravery and selflessness are shown to be powerful forces against the enemy. Meanwhile, the Nazis wreak havoc on the Polish Jews -- rounding them up, killing them, bombing them, and spraying bullets into large groups of people (including women and children).

Positive Role Models

Most of the characters aren't clearly "good" or "bad." For instance, Russian soldiers are shown to be heroic but also anti-Semitic. And the Jewish victims who fight back are shown to be both honorable and selfish, just and unjust.

Violence & Scariness

Violent battle scenes from beginning to end. Piles of naked bodies lie in a dry river bed; babies and children are wrenched from parents' arms and slaughtered; bombs are dropped on fleeing victims. There are many instances of cold-blooded, point-blank shooting, including the execution of entire families. There are also vicious fist fights, stabbings, and a lengthy scene in which an angry mob beats and stomps a Nazi soldier to death.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A man's hand touches a woman's breast over her clothes. Several passionate kisses. One couple is shown embracing, with their bare shoulders visible above blankets to indicate a post-sexual moment.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Harsh swearing throughout, including all forms of "f--k" and many instances of "s--t," "bitch, " and "hell."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Multiple scenes of Russian soldiers, victims, survivors, and partisans drinking vodka. One leading character drinks heavily. Several scenes in which men drink until they become very drunk. Camaraderie inspired by drunkenness appears to be the only form of recreation available to these people who are hiding out for years.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this war movie isn't for kids. There are many fierce battles and violently graphic killings, as well as executions of unarmed citizens. Other images include hand-to-hand combat, mob beatings, point-blank shootings, and barbaric, inhumane treatment of the Jewish population. The language is very strong as well, with lots of harsh swearing. There's some suggested sexuality, but nothing explicit and no nudity. Soldiers and resistance members drink vodka in many scenes, sometimes to excess. But if they can handle the intense content, this movie could offer mature teens and young adults a valuable look at a momentous period of recent world history and a vivid example of heroism -- as well as power and prejudice run amok. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (6)
• Kids say (13)

Based on 6 parent reviews

Violence is not the main message

What's the story.

At the height of the Nazi occupation of Poland, three Jewish brothers find their family slaughtered and other Jews being rounded up in the countryside -- with mass killings or extermination camps their sure fate. The brothers escape into the dense Belarussian forest; on the way, eldest brother Tuvia Bielski ( Daniel Craig ) comes to the rescue of a small group of terrified Jews on the run. The refugees follow the brothers into the forest, against the better judgment of volatile middle brother Zus ( Liev Schreiber ), who's certain that their presence will make them all more vulnerable. With Tuvia's help, more and more displaced Jews find their way to the constantly moving Bielski encampment, and a fragile community is established. Some of the able-bodied join forces with the Russian resistance, while others remain with Tuvia, fighting the Nazis and disrupting their brutal purpose. Lives are lost; relationships are built; bravery and sacrifice are rewarded.

Is It Any Good?

Edward Zwick wants to make passionate movies, and DEFIANCE is no exception. The story of a Jewish arm of the Resistance hasn't been told before, not like this. The film is exciting, shot with skill and a singular ability to show the harrowing savagery and heroic behavior that lived and breathed in the early 1940s.

Defiance is less successful when it zeroes in on the stories of the individual people who make up the refugee community. Then the filmmakers rely on certain stereotypes: the intellectual chess players, the leering hothead, the sibling rivalry. Still, it's well worth seeing, if only as an important reminder of where the world has been and how much care must be taken never to return there.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why so many movies about World War II and the Holocaust are still being made so long after the events occurred. What connection do stories about these events have with today's world?

Are there still instances in which strong beliefs set people apart and against one another? How do you think the media will end up treating current conflicts further down the line?

Why do you think the Bielski brothers were heroic? What made them different from the people who were afraid to stand up for themselves?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 31, 2008
• On DVD or streaming : June 1, 2009
• Cast : Daniel Craig , Jamie Bell , Liev Schreiber
• Director : Edward Zwick
• Studio : Paramount Vantage
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 137 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : violence and language
• Last updated : July 17, 2023

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W hat would have happened if the Nazis stormed the Nowogrodek ghetto and found James Bond lying in wait? What if they had then ploughed into the neighbouring forests of Belarus only to be confronted by a band of armed-to-the-teeth Rambo types? And in a sense this really happened - but only in a sense.

Defiance tackles the true-life tale of the Bielski partisans, a group of rural Jews who waged war against the Germans from their stronghold in the woods. It stars Daniel Craig as Tuvia, the resolute elder brother, Liev Schreiber as Zus, the bull-necked middle sibling, and Jamie Bell as sensitive little Asael, who is destined to either come of age or die a tragic death (or possibly both). At one stage, the Bielskis are brought before a Russian colonel who looks them scornfully up and down. "Jews don't fight," he scoffs. "These Jews do," growls Tuvia.

The Bielskis are an appealing subject because they provide such a steroid antidote to the other films of their genre. They allow director Ed Zwick to take the soulful, passive victims of a hundred Holocaust dramas and replace them with action heroes. It is a very Hollywood riposte to a very Hollywood stereotype; a film that sends one set of cliches to eat another.

So the Bielskis set up their "Jerusalem in the woods" and people it with the huddled masses from the ghetto. We meet the tubercular rabbi and the nebbish intellectual; the sloe-eyed maiden and the inevitable bad apple. Zus squabbles with Tuvia and defects to join the Russian forces. Tuvia proves his heroic credentials by parading through camp on a white horse, and then proves his humanistic ones by promptly shooting it when the rations run dry. Eventually the Nazis wade in and the partisans are flushed from the forest and cornered on the edge of the wetlands. "God will not part these waters," declares little Asael, who has come of age at last. "We shall have to do it ourselves."

Is this what Defiance wants to be: a second world war Exodus with Moses recast as a guerilla leader? If so, it is only partly successful. The story of the Bielski partisans is undeniably fascinating. Perhaps it even lends itself to this self-consciously mythic retelling. For all that, I'm not sure that Zwick's brawny fraternal epic - ringing with mortar shells, stuffed with cardboard archetypes - quite does it justice. Defiance makes a noise but leaves no echo. It feels progressively more bogus and less significant the further it recedes from view, and myths are meant to wax in the memory, not wane.

• Daniel Craig
• Drama films
• Period and historical films

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Den of Geek

Defiance film review

Daniel Craig leaps from the world of Bond to Ed Zwick's latest. And Lucy, contrary to many, is really rather taken with Defiance...

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After seeing trailers for Defiance , I was keen to see it. I’ve always been interested in the history and stories of World War II and as this film was based on true events during Nazi occupation, the base was there for a potentially gripping film.

Starring Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell, Defiance is set in Eastern Europe in 1941. Adolf Hitler is fully behind his plan to eradicate all Jews, and for all accounts, his plan is working. Thousands and thousands are massacred daily, either gassed or forced to dig ditches to bury the dead and then shot – the force of the bullets propelling them into the very holes they’ve just created.

On arriving at their parents’ farm, brothers Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael Bielski (Jamie Bell) find their mother and father slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis. Fearing also for the life of their youngest brother Aron (George MacKay), they search the grounds and mercifully find him hiding underneath some floorboards in an outhouse. Knowing that the Nazis will come back to the farm to try and find the family members they did not kill the first time, the Bielskis gather what belongings they can and disappear into the Belarussian forests.

Soon, though, they are confronted by a welcome face. Tuvia (Daniel Craig), the oldest Bielski brother, is travelling through the woods and discovers his brothers sleeping rough amongst the trees. They have an emotional reunion in the woods, made more overwhelming by the fact the others have to break the news to Tuvia that their parents are dead, murdered by order of the Nazis.

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They know they cannot go back to their village as they will be hunted down like dogs, so decide that their only choice is to hide in the woods. It soon becomes apparent, though, that they are not the only ones that have had this idea. They come across more and more groups of Polish Jews hiding in the forest, desperate not to be herded into ghettos, or worse, concentration camps. They know if they are caught their chances of survival are slim, but living in the forest is difficult with little food and shelter.

After murdering the officer that commanded his parents’ death, Tuvia doesn’t feel much better. He realises that the best way to get revenge on Hitler and his cronies is simply to survive. Tuvia forms the Bielski Otriad, a group of partisans. They begin to live together as a community – foraging for food, building shelter and acquiring weapons. They also liberate some of their brethren from the ghettos and reunite separated families. Their group grows and grows, giving them strength, but also making them more difficult to hide.

What follows is the tale of how a determined band of brothers gather and protect over 1,000 persecuted Jews and emerge from the Belarussian forest three years later.

Defiance is, in spite of what many critics seem to be saying, a gripping film. You are drawn in immediately by genuine footage from the war, which serves to remind you that what you are about to watch really happened. The story was filmed on location in Lithuania, providing stunning backdrops to what is an enthralling story.

Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell and the relative unknowns Liev Schreiber and George MacKay all shine in this film. They do a grand job of portraying the Bielski brothers and the violent range of emotions they must have been feeling as their lives were turned upside down. I was glued to the screen, and really got caught up in the emotions of the story. After all, this really happened. People were given no choice but to run for their lives – or face Nazi concentration camps and firing squads.

Overall, I recommend checking this out, particularly if you have an interest in the period. It’s a touching story and does a very good job of bringing the brave actions of the brothers before the eyes of the world.

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28 January 2009

Lucy Felthouse

Defiance Review

09 Jan 2009

136 minutes

Harvey Weinstein has long talked of directing the story of the Warsaw uprising, when ghettoised Jews fought back against the Nazis. Knocked Up’s Ben Stone extolled the virtues of the top-shot Jews of Munich: “Dude, every movie with Jews, we’re the ones getting killed. Munich flips it on its ear. We cappin’ motherfuckers!” Yes, Jews are often victims on film, but Munich’s Daniel Craig is back cappin’ in Defiance, leading a ragtag partisan force against the invading Nazis. “Jews do not fight,” says an incredulous Red Army officer. “These Jews do,” comes Craig’s reply. Woo-hoo! Lock ’n’ load! Passover this, asshole!

Of course, this being an Edward Zwick picture, Defiance is actually Very Serious. And, in fairness, it has a serious story to tell: of remarkable endurance, courage and unlikely hope. The pity is that despite its authentic origin — adapted from historian Nechama Tec’s non-fiction account — the film feels second-hand. It is caringly crafted, sincere and admirable, but while the facts are fresh, the execution is over-familiar.

From Force 10 From Navarone to Schindler’s List to Braveheart (in a particularly ill-advised oratory on horseback), Defiance is defiantly A Movie: efficient and reductionist. You can hear the machinery of the screenplay creaking as subplots and characters — or, really, types (PHILOSOPHER, INTELLECTUAL, BASTARD) — emerge. That Craig’s reluctant-but-flinty heroism barely avoids being one-note is down to the part as much as the performance, while Liev Schreiber acts as if he is carrying the responsibilities of God on his bear-like shoulders. The pair embody contrasting views of resistance — survival and vengeance — but there is little there to suggest the warmth of real family, with a fine Jamie Bell only a little better served as the youngster caught between them.

Zwick is a sturdy, competent director, with an eye for action and an honourable desire to illuminate long-shadowed stories. But his work often feels clenched with a sense of its own importance. Defiance, like Blood Diamond, is as much education as entertainment, and until he falls in love with people as much as issues, he will remain undone by his desire to make a difference.

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Movie Review | 'Defiance'

A Society in the Forest, Banding Together to Escape Persecution

By A.O. Scott

• Dec. 30, 2008

Around the midpoint of “Defiance,” Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig) sits astride his horse, welcoming new arrivals to his encampment in the Belarussian forest. It is late in 1941, and the newcomers, like the other people in this makeshift settlement, are Jews from surrounding towns and villages who have fled the savagery of the German Army and its local collaborators. Tuvia addresses these terrified survivors in a calm, authoritative voice, assuring them that here, under his protection, they will be free and safe. A little boy looks up in amazement at this heroic figure and asks his mother, “Is he a Jew?”

“Jews don’t fight,” a Russian officer remarks when he meets Tuvia and his younger, angrier brother Zus (Liev Schreiber). “These Jews do” is the response, and also the gist of Edward Zwick’s stiff, musclebound new movie. Based on a book by Nechama Tec, “Defiance” tells the true and astonishing story of the Bielski partisans, who fought the Nazis and rescued hundreds of Jews through the darkest years of war and genocide.

Tuvia and Zus — along with two other brothers, Asael (Jamie Bell) and Aron (George MacKay), who is still a child — meet up in the forest after their parents have been murdered by local authorities working in league with the German invaders. The Bielski boys are rough characters — a history of smuggling and petty criminality is hinted at — who can hold their vodka and know how to shoot, how to steal and how to navigate the dense and trackless forests.

In contrast, many of the people they rescue are what Zus calls malbushim, the Hebrew word for clothes, which he uses to describe people he thinks are worthless. And this film’s characters more or less are what they wear. Tuvia cuts a dashing figure in his brown leather jacket. An older schoolteacher (Allan Corduner) with a fedora, a fine scarf and a nicely trimmed beard arrives coughing and quoting Talmud.

Another malbesh, Isaac (Mark Feuerstein), with round glasses and a nebbishy vest, can barely use a hammer. “What is it you do?” Zus asks. “I suppose you could say I was — I am — an intellectual,” Isaac stammers. Zus cannot hide his amusement, or his contempt: “This is a job?”

Well, not really, but it’s always useful, at least in a movie like this one, to have someone around to say things like “At least Descartes recognized the subjective nature of existence” or “If my friends at The Socialist Review could see me now!” And in the society that Tuvia builds in the forest (after Zus, more a fighter than an organizer, joins up with a Red Army brigade), intellectuals do have a role.

In addition to comic relief, Isaac and the schoolteacher provide a measure of ethical guidance and political counsel. Or at least they seem to. “You have ideas about community?” Tuvia asks Isaac, and later, when Tuvia, on horseback, utters the word “community,” Isaac smiles.

Mr. Zwick, whose other movies include “Glory,” “The Siege” and “Blood Diamond,” is many things, but subtle is not one of them. (Remember that horse in the first paragraph? Did I mention that it was white?) He wields his camera with a heavy hand, punctuating nearly every scene with emphatic nods, smiles or grimaces as the occasion requires. His pen is, if anything, blunter still, with dialogue that crashes down on the big themes like a blacksmith’s hammer.

And the performances he wrings from his cast would not be out of place in an old Second Avenue Yiddish melodrama or a modern Egyptian soap opera. Just as the intellectuals are on hand to argue and fret, so are the women called upon to gaze at the Bielskis with wide, melting eyes. Three of them (Alexa Davalos, Iben Hjejle and Mia Wasikowska) will be chosen as “forest wives” by Tuvia, Zus and Asael. “You saved my life,” says Lilka (Ms. Davalos) to Tuvia as they lie together, wrapped in furs and illuminated by golden sunlight. “No. You saved mine,” he says.

But while Mr. Zwick is frequently clumsy, he is not dumb. You might even say that he is an intellectual, since “Defiance” is animated as much by an idea as by rousing, emphatic emotions. It is most interesting, and most persuasive, not as a chronicle of heroic action but rather as a series of arguments — mainly between the patient Tuvia and the hot-headed Zus — about justice, righteousness and how a decent society should function. Zus is a man of action, Tuvia a man of principle, but in good dialectical fashion each one cedes some ground to the other — Tuvia by condoning and committing necessary acts of violence, Zus by saying something nice every once in a while.

Their story is surely worth dramatizing — and may indeed be well served by this director’s square-jawed narrative style — but Mr. Zwick is not simply adding a chapter to the cinematic annals of the Holocaust. “Defiance” presents itself as an explicit correction of the cultural record, a counterpoint to all those lachrymose World War II tales of helplessness and victimhood.

This is a perfectly honorable intention, but the problem is that, in setting out to overturn historical stereotypes of Jewish passivity, Mr. Zwick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Clayton Frohman) ends up affirming them.

His film furthermore implies that if only more of the Jews living in Nazi-occupied Europe had been as tough as the Bielskis, more would have survived. This may be true in a narrow sense, but it also has the effect of making the timidity of the Jews, rather than the barbarity of the Nazis and the vicious opportunism of their allies, a principal cause of the Shoah.

What the Bielskis did is treated not as the extraordinary, odds-defying feat it was, but rather as an ideal that those who did not survive failed to live up to. Death and victimization can be, and have been, treated with sentimentality, but so too can toughness. “Defiance” celebrates strong men (who in real life sought no such glory) at the expense of those whose weakness — whose inability to fight back, or to stay alive — was not a moral failure but a fact of history. It’s not exactly false, but it’s more than a little inauthentic.

“Defiance” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has some scenes of brutal violence.

Defiance Opens on Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles. Directed by Edward Zwick; written by Clayton Frohman and Mr. Zwick, based on the book “Defiance: The Bielski Partisans” by Nechama Tec; director of photography, Eduardo Serra; edited by Steven Rosenblum; music by James Newton Howard, with violin solos performed by Joshua Bell; production designer, Dan Weil; produced by Mr. Zwick and Pieter Jan Brugge; released by Paramount Vantage. Running time: 2 hours 17 minutes. WITH: Daniel Craig (Tuvia Bielski), Liev Schreiber (Zus Bielski), Jamie Bell (Asael Bielski), Alexa Davalos (Lilka Ticktin), Allan Corduner (Shimon Haretz), Mark Feuerstein (Isaac Malbin), Mia Wasikowska (Chaya Dziencielsky), George MacKay (Aron Bielski) and Iben Hjejle (Bella).

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• DVD & Streaming
• Action/Adventure , Drama , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski; Liev Schreiber as Zus Bielski; Jamie Bell as Asael Bielski; George MacKay as Aron Bielski; Alexa Davalos as Lilka Ticktin

Home Release Date

• Edward Zwick

Distributor

• Paramount Vantage

Movie Review

In 1941, Hitler began the systematic slaughter of Poland’s Jewish citizens. But brothers Tuvia and Zus Bielski refused to submit to that fate. When their village is sacked and their parents murdered by Polish police working for the Nazis, the brothers gather their two younger siblings and hide in the nearby Belorussian forest. From that leafy shelter they plot to strike back against their enemies—a story of defiance based on real events.

Tuvia tracks down and executes his parents’ killers, then realizes he has no taste for revenge. His true passion lies in somehow saving the other Jews crying out for protection. Soon he dedicates himself to the growing number of refugees who find their way to the Bielskis’ wooded hideaway.

Zus is all for saving lives. But he grows impatient with his older brother’s penchant for placing others’ needs above their own and soon heads off to join a band of heavily armed Russian partisans.

Tuvia, for his part, remains convinced that if the struggling Jews are to survive, they must endure. Fighting when they must. Hiding when they can. But always clinging to the things that give them hope. “We may be hunted like animals, ” he says. “But we will not become animals.”

His resolve—and that of all the Jewish refugees in his care—will be severely tested.

Positive Elements

The Bielski brothers—particularly Tuvia—risk life and limb to protect as many Jewish survivors as possible. One bold gambit involves rescuing hundreds from a prison-like Jewish ghetto.

Tuvia hunts down the officer who killed his parents, shooting the man and his two sons. But he’s shaken to his core by what he’s done and later declares that he can’t get the men’s faces out of his mind. The damage that’s been done to his soul prompts him to radically alter his stance.

Tuvia insists that the forest community should try to survive without killing. “We cannot afford revenge,” he says. “Our revenge is to live.” Tuvia tells the people that they should not sink to the level of their tormentors. “Every day of freedom is like an act of faith,” he says. “And if we should die while trying to live, then at least we will die like human beings.” The Jews largely survive by taking food from nearby farms. But even in this, Tuvia suggests a guiding ethic: “We will take only from those who can afford to give. Leave those who can’t alone. We are not thieves or murderers.”

Because of harsh living conditions, Tuvia declares that there will be no pregnancies—implying that sexual contact is off limits. So when the victim of a German soldier’s rape gives birth, he’s initially furious and says that the couple will need to leave their community. But a woman with whom Tuvia has fallen in love, Lilka, informs him of the circumstances and reminds him of his pledge not to “be like animals.” She says, “What better way than to bring a life into this place of suffering and death?” The film’s conclusion informs us more babies were ultimately born than the number of community members who died in the years of the group’s forest exile.

Zus doesn’t share Tuvia’s idealistic values. Still, he has several moments of heroism. He risks his life to secure much-needed antibiotics from a German base. And though he initially rejects his Jewish roots in favor of the Russians’ more violent mode of operation, he eventually reaffirms his identity as a Jew and as Tuvia’s brother.

Spiritual Elements

Many of the Jews in Tuvia’s care make references to Old Testament characters (such as Sampson and Ehud) and events (David’s battle with Goliath). There are repeated references to Moses leading God’s people out of Egypt, and it becomes clear that Tuvia himself parallels the great Israelite leader (“So now you are Moses,” Zus says). Like Moses, Tuvia is a reluctant leader who struggles with doubt.

Similarities to Moses and the Exodus account are further highlighted when Tuvia and his people are fleeing and find themselves hemmed in by a vast bog that they must summon the courage to cross. But in this case, Tuvia’s younger brother Asael says of the task, “God will not part the water; we will have to do it ourselves.”

A rabbi repeatedly talks of how the events he’s witnessed have badly shaken his faith in God. While leading a prayer, he laments the loss of life and asks God to “choose another people” and to “take back the gift of our holiness.” Amid those doubts, though, he voices his belief that God will protect the community, telling a group of children, “Trust in God, He will take care of you.” In the end, he calls Tuvia to his side and says that he believes that God sent him. “I almost lost my faith, but you were sent by God to save us. I thank Him. And I thank you.”

During a wedding, the rabbi says, “Blessed art thou our God, king of the universe.” After several of the refugees are killed, the group gathers to pray. We also hear several references to the long-awaited Messiah.

Tuvia honors a Christian who’s died for harboring Jews by marking his burial place with a makeshift cross. As they attack and kill a group of German soldiers, Zus tells Tuvia, “This is God’s work you’re doing.” A Russian leader mockingly calls Tuvia a “Hebrew warrior.”

Sexual Content

References are made to “forest wives” and “forest husbands,” implying that marriage-like unions have formed in the community. Tuvia and Lilka eventually become such a couple. They lie naked in each other’s arms (we see bare shoulders and legs) beneath a shared coat.

A woman named Bella falls for Zus. She symbolically asks for his protection by taking his hand and placing it on her breast beneath her coat (but over her shirt). Similarly, another woman offers herself (“I’ll do anything you want”) to the younger Bielski brother, Asael, if he can help rescue her parents. (He helps without taking her up on her offer.)

A group of women are shown washing themselves while standing in a stream. (Some show cleavage, but they are dressed in slips and body-hugging undergarments.)

Violent Content

Defiance commences with black-and-white vintage film clips of German soldiers shooting, beating and manhandling Jewish prisoners. We then glimpse everything from vigilantes shooting a farmer in the head and throwing him on a burning truck, to armed combatants in heavy-action firefights, to overhead bombers blowing up innocents. Blood splatters onto the scenery with gruesome regularity.

In most of their engagements against the Germans, Tuvia and his people are on the defensive. Once, however, Tuvia, Zus and a few others actively ambush several Germans. Zus, especially, relishes unloading his machine gun into the unsuspecting victims, including the wife of an officer. Elsewhere, Zus casually walks up behind a group of German soldiers (who have surrendered and are on their knees) and shoots each in the head.

After killing the policeman responsible for his parents’ murder, Tuvia arguably exercises restraint by not killing the man’s wife (even though she begs him to do so). Other times, however, the film implies that such restraint is beyond his ability. Despite his commitment to avoid violence, Tuvia must confront a mutinous, rebellious community member who refuses to submit to rules, who misappropriates food and who brazenly undermines Tuvia’s authority. In a shocking confrontation, Tuvia unexpectedly shoots and kills him in front of everyone in the forest village.

Another wrenching scene involves a captured German soldier who’s pleading for mercy. He tells the gathered group that he has a wife and children—which only serves to stoke their fury further. Fists and savage kicks soon turn to beatings with butts of guns as men and women cry “Justice!” and take turns pummeling him (we don’t see the guns’ impact) as they say the names of lost family members. Tuvia watches in anguish and seeming indecision, and he ultimately decides not to halt what amounts to a community execution.

Crude or Profane Language

The s-word is spit out at least 15 times and the f-word five times (including some subtitled usages). There are several instances of “b–ch” and one of “a–,” as well as crude slang for the male anatomy. God’s name is misused twice.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Vodka flows like water. In fact, to be honest, I don’t remember anyone drinking any water. Just about everyone—men, women, a teen, soldiers and teachers of the Torah—tip the bottle. We even see Tuvia’s refugees concocting a makeshift vodka still. In one scene, two Russian commanders are quite drunk. German and Russian soldiers smoke cigarettes.

Other Negative Elements

A German soldier urinates unknowingly on Zus, who is hiding in a bush. Polish police make crude jokes about hunting down Jews for the Nazis, and one mentions that they’re paid 500 rubles per person captured or killed.

Based on historical events, Defiance is many things: It’s the story of rough-edged, ordinary men who have the responsibility for more than a thousand people thrust upon them. It’s a tale of bravery, dogged perseverance and an unwavering desire to save others that parallels the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. Finally, it’s a Holocaust story that was virtually unknown until Tuvia Bielski revealed its details shortly before his death in 1973.

For all those positives, this is also a realistic war film filled with blood-spewing gun battles, execution-style head shots, mangled innocents, revenge killings, flesh-withering starvation and obliterating explosions. Obscenities frequently cut through the dialogue.

In the course of these visceral events, even the “good guys” are forced into quandaries that raise hard questions. Should Tuvia have shot the man questioning his authority? Were there any other alternatives? Should he have allowed people to beat a defenseless German to death in the name of “justice”? The film doesn’t answer these ethical conundrums. Instead, it prompts us to ponder what we might do in a similar situation.

Which seems to be exactly what writer/director Edward Zwick intended. “In the interest of survival [the film’s heroes] may cross lines even into the emulation of their tormentor,” Zwick told beliefnet.com . “For me, that made it more heroic because it made it more believable.”

The result is a movie that broadly echoes the themes of heroism and brutality found in Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan . The violence in Defiance isn’t quite as graphic as the imagery in those two films. (Nor is the delivery of this remarkable true story quite as emotionally compelling as Steven Spielberg’s World War II epics.) But it is, like they are, gritty, grim … and inspiring. It’s a tale of suffering people who lash out and fail and flail, but refuse to easily relinquish their faith or their humanity.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Movie Review: Defiance (2008)

• General Disdain
• Movie Reviews
• 10 responses
• --> January 15, 2009

I’m not entirely sure why there is a run on “based on a true story” World War II movies as of late, but the newest of the bunch is Defiance . This one doesn’t delve into an assassination plot to kill Hitler (see Valkyrie for that), nor does it tell the tale of an all black infantry unit stranded in Italy ( Miracle at St. Anna for that). Instead, this tells the prolonged tale of the triumph of the soul of 1000+ Polish Jews and their fight to survive in the Belarussian Forest away from the cruel hands of the Nazis.

Leading this harried bunch to safety is the Beilskis brothers — Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Live Schreiber), and to a lesser extent, Asael (Jamie Bell). Tuvia is determined to maintain some semblance of normalcy under the dire conditions while Zus believes the only way to survive is to take the Nazis and their sympathizers to task. It is these diverged paths and the corresponding mindsets of all involved that director Edward Zwick focuses his attention upon with varying levels of success.

The bulk of the spotlight is afforded to Tuvia, as he is the most conflicted of the lot. Craig does an impressive job hanging up his James Bond duds to tackle the role of the reluctant leader. On one hand he’s a man who wants and seeks revenge for the murder of his family and on the other he insists on not sinking to the level of his people’s enemies. It is a fine line that, in a similar situation, I doubt I would have been able to walk. But he does it, going so far as to shoot dead a man who dared to challenge his insistence that the ragtag community maintain order and civility.

180-degress from Tuvia is bigger brother Zus. Casting Schreiber as this big, angry Jewish guy with a conscious probably couldn’t have been done any better. Angered that his brother is taking on more and more refugees at their makeshift camp (they could barely feed themselves), he leaves in disgust to fight with a band of Russian fighters hiding in the same forest. They give him satisfaction for the Nazi blood he craves but he soon realizes he’s in bed with bigots nearly as bad as the Germans. This leads to a cathartic moment that appears to be made just for the movies — I couldn’t believe it actually transpired as told.

Actually I questioned whether much of what I saw in Defiance played out in quite the same way in real life as in the way Zwick tells it. The film, based off of the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec, surely takes a great many creative liberties. There is a Moses like moment that elevates Asael to messiah-like status. Bullets and bombs seem to miss anyone with any importance to the plot, just like a G.I. Joe cartoon (okay, someone does get shot in the arm, but c’mon — it’s the arm, not a vital organ!).

But at least there was a fair amount of raw action — something rather unexpected for a film about Holocaust survivors. It’s needed too because if it wasn’t interspersed now and again throughout the film, I fear the movie would have been reduced to nothing more than one about a community of people living in the woods. The fighting was a stark reminder as to the seriousness of what was going on at the time.

Defiance also that takes a hard look at and questions whether “an eye for an eye” or “turning the other cheek” is the proper way to respond to humiliation, degradation and murder. Ultimately, you can draw your own conclusions but I believe the Beilskis’ have shown that both beliefs, used in conjunction with one another (i.e., use force only when absolutely necessary), is probably the best course of action. It is a lesson some could stand to learn this day.

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Defiance (2008)' have 10 comments

January 24, 2009 @ 11:48 am Anne

I saw the movie the last weekend and was not that bad. Nothing special but at least was entertaining or maybe I just like the WW2 movies.

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January 29, 2009 @ 8:58 am james

Great to see daniel trying new charactors in different movie, not a bad movie, i give it 7/10

February 15, 2009 @ 3:03 pm analyst

Another Hollywood tale which doesn’t have anything to do with the real history of WWII. Bad example of Western Russophobia. Russians in this movie are portrayed as drunks, Nazis collaborators, and Jews haters. I hope that those few WWII survivals in the former USSR will never see this movie, as the movie is nothing but an insult to the real heroes of that war. I cannot believe that good actors agreed to be a part of this horrific move.

February 17, 2009 @ 12:50 pm GeezLouise

HOLLYWOOD ELITES self-righteouslessly rail against War and Violence. Then they foist a movie on the great unwashed out here that uses a storyline with often unintelligible,contrived dialogue, seemingly as an excuse for an “action-shoot-em-up” Movie. I closed my eyes for a good part of the picture, listening to the intermittent “dialogue”, but mainly heard the rat-ta-tat-tatting of the guns, Nazi guns, Russian guns, Jewish guns. Save you $$$ and your time.

May 6, 2009 @ 1:43 am paul packer

A poor film. Had the feel throughout of a very predictable telemovie, even to the unconvincing violence (bullets seem to hit everything but bodies). Poor, occasionally unintellible dialogue, and washed-out, irritating, wiggle-the-camera-around-to-simulate-excitement cinematography. I never got involved with any of the characters. I never had the feeling that anything original or unexpected was going to happen. Perhas most indicative of the utter predictability of the whole film was the scene where James..er, Daniel Craig shoots a fellow refugee for questioning his authority. This is telegraphed well before by the fact that Craig turns slowly away from his victim before suddenly turning back to shoot him, just as John Wayne did in a hundred movies before punching someone. And oh, that Private Ryan device of the hero being defeaned by concussion and hearing only a whistle…put that to bed, please. It was used twice in Ryan and that’s enough, thanks, especially as I already have tinnitus and don’t need any movie demonstrations of it. Anyway, a very disappointing, by-the-numbers movie about an important subject, which, if it wasn’t originally intended as a telemovie, should have been consigned to freeview anyway.

November 1, 2009 @ 9:54 pm sms kostenlos

I saw the movie today. Very nice.

November 1, 2009 @ 10:56 pm paul packer

Kostenlos, you shouldn’t be so voluble. Couldn’t you have given your opinion in just six words? Oh wait, you did…. :)

November 24, 2009 @ 7:05 pm Dental Plan

I thought that this movie was pretty good and moving. Craig and Schrieber had great chemistry as brothers.

January 12, 2010 @ 1:45 pm drew levin

This was an amazing movie with great cinematography.

September 26, 2010 @ 9:05 am tera hapatti

Another Hollywood tale which doesn’t have anything to do with the real history of WWII. Bad example of Western Russophobia. Russians in this movie are portrayed as drunks, Nazis collaborators, and Jews haters. I hope that those few WWII survivals in the former USSR will never see this movie, asthe movie is nothing but an insult to the real heroes of that war. I cannot believe that good actors agreed to be a part of this horrific move.

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Defiance Reviews

Zwick is ardently devoted to entertainment value, even if it means sacrificing the dignity of his otherwise stimulating story.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Dec 15, 2023

It doesn’t take many risks and it never strays too far from the more conventional survival movie path. But it’s a very well made film that captures the look and tone of the period.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 20, 2022

Every minute that the cast and crew shot Defiance on location in Lithuania was worth it.

Full Review | Jul 19, 2021

Defiance survives its sometimes pedestrian tone and personality due to a serious and honest attitude towards its principal subject matter.

Full Review | Mar 5, 2021

The script can't quite manage enough pathos for its band of oddly anti-heroic protagonists to create a lasting impression.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 28, 2020

As the leader with a checkered past, Craig shows off both his action hero chops, his sensitive side and a nifty little Belorussian accent that occasionally wavers.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 5, 2020

I recommend the movie as a redemptive and uplifting tale of heroism... if only to call attention to the real heroism of the historic Bielski brothers.

Full Review | Apr 10, 2020

If only Defiance could offer up a treatment of this historical phenomenon with more originality and mettle and less faith in war-movie razzle-dazzle.

Full Review | Jan 27, 2020

Very displeased that the Holocaust is used, once again, as a place and time to pass off entertainment as art.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 2, 2019

The kind of big, old-fashioned prestige entertainment Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to do

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 6, 2019

Bielski's extraordinary achievement is fairly and finely rendered...

Full Review | Aug 29, 2018

I've admired Craig's work in all his movies, and though it is unfair to compare his work here with his appearance as James Bond, I regard Defiance as the Daniel Craig movie I admire most.

Full Review | Jan 2, 2018

The actors are compelling. And Director Edward Zwick inflects the material with his trademark mix of moral zeal and high adventure, as in previous epics like Glory, Legends of the Fall and Blood Diamond.

Full Review | Dec 30, 2017

Zwick wants to tell timeless stories on a grand scale. I know that's not what people want anymore. I know it's not breathtaking. But it's not something many are doing now, and definitely not doing it this well.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jun 22, 2013

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 16, 2011

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 16, 2011

Zwick does not deal in gratuitous grotesquery or far-fetched metaphor. "Operatic" and "surreal" are not in his vocabulary.

Full Review | Aug 16, 2011

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Apr 4, 2011

For all its pomp and ruminating, Defiance isn't really interested in drama. It really just wants to entertain us. But it's not any better at that.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Mar 18, 2011

Defiance is heavy-handed, but emotionally compelling, engaging and inspiring throughout.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 20, 2010

Find Family Movies, Movie Ratings and Movie Reviews

Defiance Parent Guide

Wanting to illustrate the fact that not all jews were victims of hitler's rage, the filmmakers succeed at showing how attitudes of determination and defiance allowed many to weather the storm..

As Nazi forces invade Poland, the defiant Bielski brothers (played by Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) escape into the Belarussian forest. Worried about the encroaching army and others of their race, the three men begin rescuing Jews and offering them protection within a village they build amidst the dense trees. This movie is based on a true story.

Release date January 16, 2009

Run Time: 137 minutes

Official Movie Site

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

It’s 1941 and tens of thousands of Jewish people are being hunted in Eastern Europe—but three brothers are determined to take control of their destiny. Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Live Schreiber) and Asael Bielski (Jamie Bell) escape into the Belarussian forest surrounding their community after watching the horrific murders of their parents, extended family and friends by invading Nazi troops.

At first, the three siblings are focused on their own survival. Yet Tuvia is determined to help others and brings additional refugees into their midst. After Asael goes on a short expedition, he also returns with more men, women and children. Eventually the strays number into the hundreds and so do the stresses from the ever-increasing need to protect and feed these people. Zus is especially concerned and repeatedly voices his displeasure over his older brother’s overtly charitable attitude.

Based on true historical events surrounding this overlooked band of brothers and their self-named Bielski Otriad (or partisan detachment), this gripping film delivers a literally chilling view of what these people endured as they attempted to live as well as possible in makeshift camps amongst the dense trees. It shows the siblings as the heroes they were, but not without faults or emotions that sometimes created discord and contempt between them.

Dealing with topics surrounding the cruelties these survivors faced, this movie contains some strong language and graphic depictions of people being shot and physically abused. Nazi soldiers are seen rounding up women and children like cattle—then in another scene a long ditch filled with corpses is shown.

Within the camp, there is talk of choosing a “forest wife” or “forest husband” between people who may or may not already be married (in truth there was no way to determine if one’s spouse was still alive, and the sad reality was many had perished). Sexual content is minimal, with only one couple seen kissing and waking up together the next morning. There is also talk of a woman who was raped by a Nazi soldier, but details are not explicit.

Wanting to illustrate the fact that not all Jews were victims of Hitler’s rage, the filmmakers succeed at showing how attitudes of determination and defiance allowed many to weather the storm. While this serious material is unsuitable for children, the examples of these brave defenders may be appreciated by older teens and adults. Tuvia is especially noteworthy because of his willingness to put his own life at risk to save others.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Defiance rating & content info.

Why is Defiance rated R? Defiance is rated R by the MPAA for violence and language.

Based on historical accounts of Jews who were determined to hide from the wrath of Hitler’s invasions, this film details the efforts made by three brothers to protect a growing group of refugees. Frequent violence includes scenes of soldiers killing innocent people, including women, children and the elderly. Shootings are portrayed on-screen, and people are rounded up and taken away in trucks. Others are thrown, injured and killed during a bombing raid. Verbal threats and racial slurs are heard. A horse is shot off-screen. Sexual content is limited to discussions of people taking “forest wives” and “forest husbands”—many of these people are married, but have no idea if their spouses have survived. One couple is seen in bed, sexual activity is implied. A discussion occurs about a pregnant woman who was raped by a Nazi. A man unknowingly urinates on another man who is hiding. Profanities are moderately frequent, and include about a half-dozen sexual expletives, scatological terms, and religious profanities. Cigarettes smoking and alcohol use (sometimes to the point of impairment) are depicted.

Page last updated July 21, 2016

Defiance Parents' Guide

A search on the Internet for “Bielski Otriad” will result in many sites that have additional information on these heroic brothers. Here is an account of one person’s interactions with them and their camp deep in the forest: http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Lida-District/visit-partisans.htm

The most recent home video release of Defiance movie is June 2, 2009. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Defiance

Release Date: 2 June 2009

Defiance releases to home video on DVD and Blu-ray. The movie is presented in wide screen with audio tracks in Dolby Digital Surround -English (on DVD) and Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby True HD 5.1 - English (on Blu-ray). Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish.

Bonus materials include:

- Audio Commentary (by director Edward Zwick)

- Featurettes ( Return to the Forest: The Making of Defiance, Children of The Otriad: The Families Speak and Bielski Partisan Survivors )

Related home video titles:

The Bielski Brothers were not the only ones to rebel against the events and horrors occurring during World War II. Hitler’s own officers made assassination plans as recounted in the movie Valkyrie (also releasing in December 2008). A Jewish father uses humor and a positive attitude as weapons to help his son endure the cruelties of a concentration camp in the movie Life is Beautiful .

The 10 Best Characters in 'The Hunger Games' Movies, Ranked

“I’m more than just a piece in their games.”

The richly developed world-building of The Hunger Games m ovies allows for some fascinating and complex characters . Due to the isolated and diverse natures of the various Districts and Capitol of Panem , each character has a unique upbringing and experiences, fostering a distinctive understanding of the world around them . For instance, Katniss, who grew up in abject poverty in District 12, has a much lower opinion of Panem's government than Effie, who has only ever experienced a life of privilege in the Capitol.

It is also important to consider that The Hunger Games series is a work of dystopic fiction which uses parallels and juxtaposition to reflect the real problems of our society . This turns the characters of ' The Hunger Games ' into reflections of what humanity may look like if subjected to the extreme political conditions of Panem. Because the problems of Panem are exaggerated versions of real-world problems , its citizens make for uniquely accessible characters, with many being able to see themselves in the struggles of characters like Johanna or Finnick. These are the top 10 most complex, entertaining, and relatable characters in The Hunger Games .

The Hunger Games

Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.

10 Gale Hawthorne

Played by liam hemsworth.

Gale is one of the most hated characters in The Hunger Games franchise, but his (many) flaws are caused by unregulated emotions more than anything else . Gale's worst offense, which has earned him the nickname "Prim Reaper" among Hunger Games' fans, is orchestrating the bombing of the Capitol that led to the death of Katniss' sister, Prim in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 . While he may not have known that Prim would be in the Capitol that day, he still implemented an attack targeted toward children, making him no better than those who believed in holding the Hunger Games in the first place. In his anger at the Capitol's violence, Gale feels entitled to retaliate with equal malice .

Gale's emotions similarly overtake him with Katniss. When she returns from the Games at the beginning of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire , Katniss is traumatized, experiencing nightmares and flashbacks . Instead of supporting her, however, Gale gets hung up on his jealousy, questioning Katniss about her relationship with Peeta in the Arena, even when Katniss insists that " I did what I did to survive ." When his friend needs him, Gale can only think of himself .

9 Sejanus Plinth

Played by josh andés rivera.

Sejanus has honorable goals, but unrealistic ways of achieving them. Sejanus can see past the glamour of the Capitol due to his parents having bought his way out of District 2 and is sickened by his peers' ambivalence towards the Capitol's mistreatment of the Districts . Unfortunately, Sejanus's attempts to end this injustice do not create lasting change . He attempts to honor Marcus, a deceased tribute, by memorializing his body according to District 2 customs. This not only puts him in mortal danger , but Doctor Gaul cuts the Arena footage so that no one sees his noble act anyway . Bringing attention to the tributes' humanity is a worthwhile pursuit, but Sejanus's method of doing so is impractical .

Sejanus's flaw of irrational selflessness ultimately becomes fatal, as he wrongfully trusts Coriolanus with his plan to flee Panem with the rebels of District 12. Just as he fails to anticipate Doctor Gaul cutting the footage of him in the Arena, he fails to realize that Coriolanus's alliance will always be with the Capitol. Sejanus dies, never being able to "do some real good" in Panem, despite his considerable financial and political resources.

8 Johanna Mason

Played by jena malone.

Johanna is a nuanced reflection of the impacts of trauma . She first appears in Catching Fire when she is reaped for the Quarter Quell . Johanna reacts with anger, expressed through small rebellions , such as screaming profanities during her interview, undressing in the elevator in front of Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch, and swinging an axe aggressively during training. When Johanna admits that "there is no one left [she] love[s]," her anger is revealed to be how she copes with her trauma . The Capitol killed Johanna's loved ones because she wouldn't submit to their control, and now that they're gone, her defiance is all she has left . She attempts to channel this defiance into real rebellion at the end of Catching Fire , but this attempt fails when she is captured by the Capitol.

When she is rescued from the Capitol in Mockingjay Part 2 , Johanna's fierceness has all but disappeared . She's a shell of herself physically, and emotionally she has just given up. She has realized that the Capitol did indeed have more to take from her , and her entire being reflects that crushing disillusionment. Johanna demonstrates that projecting a facade of strength does not equate to invincibility. Johanna does end the series with some fire back in her eyes , though, which makes a hopeful statement about the possibility of recovery .

7 Effie Trinket

Played by elizabeth banks.

Effie's journey is one of deconstruction and identity formation . At the start of The Hunger Games , Effie's entire identity is defined by her role in the Capitol. She dresses according to their fashion trends, sees herself as superior to the Districts, and believes wholeheartedly in the fairness and importance of the Games . As she grows closer with Katniss and Peeta, however, and starts to genuinely care about them, Effie slowly begins to deconstruct the Capitol's belief in the insignificance of District lives.

Deconstruction is not a linear journey , though, as Effie's attempts to protect her tributes still follow the rules of the Capitol throughout Catching Fire , such as when she encourages Katniss and Peeta to stick to the Capitol's approved speeches for their Victory Tour . When Effie's role is expanded from the novels in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and she is brought to District 13, this approach is no longer viable. For the first time, Effie has to figure out who she is all on her own , and what she ultimately chooses - getting together with Haymitch and keeping her cute outfits - is a pretty great option. The odds are in Effie's favor, after all.

6 Lucy Gray Baird

Played by rachel zegler.

Like the title of the film she is introduced in ( The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes ), Lucy Gray is both a songbird and a snake . Because Lucy Gray is "not actually from 12," and is part of the Covey , her culture and mannerisms feel exotic to the people of Panem. Her colorful clothes, her singing, and her boldness are captivating to the Capitol because of their strangeness and relative rarity. Lucy Gray's exoticism makes her entertaining , and she uses her magnetic quality to win people over, such as when she sings during her pre-Games interview, but also to mask more sinister intentions , such as when she takes advantage of all the eyes on her at the Reaping to put a snake down Maude Ivory's dress, making herself seem like more of a threat in the Games.

Lucy Gray embodies a dichotomy between beauty and danger that makes her impossible to truly figure out, and her fate remains a mystery . This is true for Coriolanus, who goes mad with paranoia over her , constantly guessing at what her motivations truly are . Lucy Gray is a beautiful enigma, just like the Lucy Gray of the song she is named after, who is "a survivor... But...a mystery."

Played by Lenny Kravitz

Cinna is an exception to the rule that our upbringing dictates who we are . When Katniss first arrives in the Capitol, Cinna is the only person to treat her with humanity . While everyone else has treated her like either a wild animal (Effie), or a dress-up doll (the assistant stylists), Cinna's introductory words are "How despicable we must seem to you." He can look at himself from her perspective, displaying a humble ability to critique both the Capitol and himself that asserts himself both as Katniss's equal, and as a rebel. He builds trust in her through genuine empathy and concern that is unheard of with any other Capitol citizen .

Despite Cinna's screentime in the series being criminally short, he still manages to throw the first stone at the Capitol's destruction . While Katniss has always hated the Capitol, it is Cinna who turns her into a revolutionary icon . He understands the power of knowing how to "make an impression," using his designs to associate Katniss with the rebellious symbol of the Mockingjay. Without Cinna, the revolution might never have succeeded .

4 Finnick Odair

Played by sam claflin.

Finnick is one of the most beloved characters in The Hunger Games , and for good reason. He's charming, attractive, and good with a trident, all qualities that tend to make one very likable. Interestingly, like real-life fans of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire , Capitol fans of the Games also took a liking to Finnick . Their love is parasitic, however, as immediately after Finnick wins the Games, he is sold off to rich Capitol citizens for "the pleasure of [his] company." Finnick's experience draws a parallel to real-world fandom, making a point about how toxic such relationships can be.

By The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 , it is evident that Finnick is more than meets the eye . He fiercely protects his loved ones, literally carrying Mags through the Arena even though she is unlikely to survive it, and managing to throw a beautiful wedding to Annie under the austere conditions of District 13. Finnick's experience in the Games and afterward has left him with a lot of trauma, but he knows that "it's better not to give in to it." Finnick's love allows him to endure the darkest of times.

3 Haymitch Abernathy

Played by woody harrelson.

Haymitch makes an abysmal first impression in The Hunger Games , but ultimately proves himself to be one of the best characters in the series . When Katniss and Peeta first meet their mentor for the Games, they are disturbed to find that Haymitch is drunk, detached, and disinterested in helping them. This is because Haymitch has had to mentor the District 12 tributes ever since he won his own Games , and has had to watch those tributes die every year, unable to stop the violence. Haymitch knows that "Nobody ever wins the Games. Period. There are survivors... no winners."

It is love that breaks Haymitch of his depression and allows him to work towards creating real change . As he grows to care for Katniss and Peeta, he is revitalized, and we are reintroduced to Haymitch as someone strategic and witty, who understands how to bend the rules in his favor. Haymitch finally takes action by becoming part of the revolution , coaching Katniss through her role as the Mockingjay just as he had through her Games. Haymitch understands that Panem is just an extension of the Games , and, luckily for him, surviving the Games is something he knows well.

2 Katniss Everdeen

Played by jennifer lawrence.

Katniss is the protagonist of The Hunger Games , and we experience the story from her perspective. This makes it easy to see ourselves in Katniss , whether that's in her protective love for her family, how she reacts to trauma, or her relationships with her prospective love interests (Team Peeta, anyone?). Despite her relatable nature, however, Katniss is more than just a blank slate for the audience to project themselves onto. Katniss is an active and unique character, whose flaws only make her more human. She is distrustful and cynical, she can be stubborn, and sometimes she lets her anger get the better of her, but she is still the Mockingjay.

What makes Katniss so amazing is that she can be a hero while not being perfect. She is not a "chosen one," and possesses no supernatural ability. She became a talented archer only out of necessity, because she had to learn to hunt in order to feed her family and survive. She is a normal person who rises above the challenges presented to her, using her compassion and sense of justice to end the cycle of power-hungry leaders in Panem. Hopefully, many audience members see themselves in Katniss's bravery, determination, and strength.

1 Peeta Mellark

Played by josh hutcherson.

Doctor Gaul designed the Hunger Games based on the notion that all people are inherently evil , and that, if forced to compete for survival, they would immediately disregard any concern for others. Peeta single-handedly proves this wrong. No matter how difficult the circumstances, Peeta does the right thing. Whether that means going against his abusive mother to give a starving Katniss a loaf of bread , donating his winnings to the families of fallen tributes, or volunteering in Haymitch's place for the Quarter Quell, Peeta always puts others' needs before his own. Katniss sees Peeta's pure selflessness as proof that people can still be good, even under the oppressive rule of Panem.

This is why Peeta's hijacking is so devastating . President Snow knows how to hurt Katniss the most , by stealing Peeta's kindness, which had become Katniss's only beacon of hope, while simultaneously realizing Peeta's worst fear, that the Capitol would be able to "change" him . It is a testament to the strength of Peeta's goodness that he manages to break free of the Capitol's programming. Peeta proves that kindness always triumphs over violence.

' The Hunger Games ' is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

WATCH ON NETFLIX

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Despite just six years under its belt, among them two years of Covid and one year of industry-halting strikes, the production company can already count the wins. A.V. Rockwell’s feature film debut A Thousand and One received the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Awards and the Film Independent Spirit Award for best first feature. Radha Blank’s The 40-Year-Old Version was awarded best screenplay at the 2021 IFP Gotham Awards. The Broadway play Ain’t No Mo , on which Hillman Grad served as producer, was nominated for Best Play at the 2023 Tony Awards. Those are just the accolades. Filmmakers who have found a foothold in the industry through their mentorship include Chang Can Dunk creator Jingyi Shao (Disney+) and Being Mary Tyler Moore director James Adolphus (HBO).

Unlike most diversity programs, giving emerging filmmakers their best shot at success means not just placing them in jobs, but supporting them through the experience, like the three months Rajani spent on set with Shao. “We like to think of ourselves as the Seattle Grace of production companies,” says Waithe. “People think, ‘I made it. I got a movie or a TV show,’ and that’s really where it all begins. Part of our journey with these filmmakers is that their dream coming true can also be a nightmare some days.”

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• Cast & crew

Carmina Burana: Dancing in Defiance

A live recording of Carl Orff's world-famous musical masterpiece Carmina Burana, performed by more than 100 singers and dancers of the National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine (Odessa). A live recording of Carl Orff's world-famous musical masterpiece Carmina Burana, performed by more than 100 singers and dancers of the National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine (Odessa). A live recording of Carl Orff's world-famous musical masterpiece Carmina Burana, performed by more than 100 singers and dancers of the National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine (Odessa).

• Rolf Dekens

User reviews

• May 14, 2024 (Netherlands)
• Netherlands
• AM Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 12 minutes
• Dolby Atmos

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