Daniel Craig Fights for Family, Survival, and Resistance in This Unforgiving, Rousing World War II Movie

The systemic targeting of Jews during World War II left little room for successful, organized resistance. This is reflected in the movies made about the war, particularly the Holocaust. Historical events like the escape from Sobibor, touted as the most successful uprising of Jewish prisoners, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising have inspired directors to explore them for the screen. A much less-known but powerful event took place in rural Belarus, where four brothers led an uprising that saved over 1,200 Jews from the hands of the Nazis. This event is the subject of Edward Zwick’s 2008 film Defiance. Starring Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski, the eldest of the brothers who founded the Bielski Partisans, the film tells the true story of a group of Jewish rebels who waged guerrilla-like warfare against their oppressors and established a self-sufficient forest base where they built amenities like schools and hospitals.