Nice to See Heroes of "Defiance" Calibre

I've gotta say, it sure is nice to see unsung heroes, suddenly . . . being sung. With the new Daniel Craig-headlining historical actioner, Defiance, major movie audiences are being given a glimpse of something that most people are completely ignorant of: serious, armed resistant of Jews to the evil and menacing Nazis and their European collaborators.

Defiance tells the story of the three Bielski brothers from Poland, who not only refused to go silently to the murderous gates to certain death, but they fought back, and fought back well. Defiance finally answers the question: why didn't they fight back?

Well, they did. It's jut a lot harder to triumph when your enemies are significantly better prepared and armed to the death with more deadly weapons. The most shocking part is how well those like Bielski succeeded, considering their minute numbers and lack of basic necessities, not to mention the fact that they were usually surrounded by people who were, if not directly hostile, happy enough to see them go. The miracle that Defiance tells is nothing less than a modern day telling of the Hanukkah story, of the triumph of the Maccabees, and the true message that a *will* to survive can do amazing things.

Defiance has been receiving mostly positive reviews, with the biggest gripes mainly being that the leads are too attractive. Yeah, try to get a big film made with only starving actors, and see how easy that is.

Interestingly, officials from Poland (the story of the "Bielski Partisans" took place in what was then occupied Poland, and what is now Belarus), have been uneasy at the telling of Defiance . . . mainly because the Polish government was so complicit in the deaths of millions of Jews during the Holocaust, and cringe at the idea that the story is being re-told, to remind the world of what Poland did. It is not a bad thing to remember horrible mistakes of the past, to ensure against a repeat of history. Interestingly, some Polish officials tried to pooh-pooh the story, arguing that it either never happened, or happened in an entirely different way. Told in a vacuum with no historical context, perhaps their version is enough to satisfy those ignorant of the atrocities committed in Poland and greater Europe, but told within the greater story of survival amidst a hostile world, it is easy to see the Polish claims fall to pieces. Sometimes the truth is ugly, but if we do not confront reality, what has been learned?

Tuvia, Alexander (Zus) and Assael are the three real-life Bielski brothers, played by Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell. Together, they and their group saved the lives of over 1,000 Jews. Critics of the smaller "innaccuries" need not kid themselves: of course any studio would glam up a story that already had the elements of a blockbuster: action, terrible odds, good versus evil, tension and love. Welcome to history with some danger and exotic emotions thrown in, for kicks.