Defiance

Defiance (2008) is set in the forests of Belarus. In 1941, after their family is killed under Nazi occupation, the Bielski brothers escape into the woods. They begin taking in other Jews who are fleeing and build a settlement in the forest: huts, an infirmary, a school, a mill. It is a true story. The Bielski partisans kept more than a thousand people alive through the war, and it is counted among the largest rescue efforts organised by Jews during the Second World War. At the centre is an argument between two brothers. Tuvia prioritises saving people, Zus prioritises fighting the Germans, and the film does not decide between them. Edward Zwick directed. Daniel Craig plays Tuvia, Liev Schreiber plays Zus and Jamie Bell the youngest brother. It was shot in Lithuania, where the forest camp was actually built. James Newton Howard's score was nominated for an Academy Award. It runs 137 minutes. Good for: Holocaust history, stories of resistance, and conflict between brothers. Less good for: the film softens some of what the partisans did, and historians have objected on that point. Life in the camp starts repeating after a while, and the women get very little room.