Daniel Craig leads Jewish partisans fighting the Nazis
By Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 1/16/2009 - “I was fascinated right away by Tuvia’s ability to take action, and by his willingness to take enormous risks for others,” says Defiance star Daniel Craig. “But, I also think he was not that different than many others in that time. It’s just that he was successful and lived, so we can now tell his story.”
Defiance is based on the true story of three brothers: Tuvia, Zus and Asael. During World War II the three brothers save as many Jews of Eastern Europe as they can by creating a hidden village in the forest.
“To make that decision. To say, ‘Ok, something needs to be done here, and I’m the person to do it’, to me that’s mind-blowing,” says Craig. “He obviously had something in him that was so vital and full of life and so affected by the tragedy around him that he had to find a way to take control of the situation, and that was the greatest challenge in portraying him.”
“For Tuvia, I think the motivation becomes about more than just fighting back, but about creating a family and a community,” says Craig. “This became their reason to survive. To me, that’s the really big theme of the film.”
Tuvia is, however, is a cold autocratic leader. “He was really a dictator in the camp,” says Craig. “Yet, his rules and regulations may have helped them all stay alive. It raises a lot of interesting questions. He dealt with things very aggressively and some of what he did is not defensible, yet perhaps understandable in the context of all that was happening.”
Tuvia forms a relationship with his “forest wife,” Lilka. “Tuvia is certainly not looking for love,” says Craig. “When Lilka comes into his life it really surprises him, which I think makes it even more romantic in a way. In the true story, Tuvia and Lilka stayed together for the rest of their lives, which is quite amazing. I think in that situation your partner becomes more than just your friend or your lover. They become someone who keeps you human and who boosts your survival instincts to a higher level.”
Defiance is directed by Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond). The screenplay is by Zwick and Clay Frohman, based on Nechama Tec’s non-fiction book of the same name. Before Tuvia Bielski’s death in 1987, Dr. Nechama Tec interviewed him as part of the first comprehensive study of the Jewish Partisans ever undertaken. Oxford University Press published Defiance in 1993.
“I grew up in the Jewish tradition, read a lot about the Holocaust, and my father was an American soldier in World War II,” says Defiance screenwriter Clayton Frohman. “I thought I’d heard a lot of the most interesting stories from that time. But I’d never heard about the Bielskis. I felt right away that this was a necessary story to tell, of the people who fought back, who would not submit. All my life I had heard about Jews who were victims. What makes this film so important to me is that it tells the other side of a story that was almost lost.”
At a Dodger’s game, Frohman gave Tec’s book to a friend, director Edward Zwick. That began a collaboration that would take more than ten years to bring to the screen.
“One of the great human impulses is that of bearing witness, of keeping memories alive,” says Defiance director Edward Zwick. “With Defiance, I wanted to create a rich and exciting entertainment but I also felt an obligation to keep faith with those to whom it happened. It’s not only a thrilling story, but also one that prompts many questions, provoking audiences to think about what they would have done in that time, and also to understand how it relates to our world today.”
Defiance
Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Tomas Arana
Release Date: January 16, 2009 (Expanding to wide release from 12/31/08)
Rating: R for violence and language
Distributor: Paramount Vantage
Running Time: 2 hrs. 17 min.
источник
