Did I ever mention that I like Daniel Craig? While he is good as James Bond, this role fits his rugged persona better. No need to be dashing here. Craig plays Tuvia Bielski, one of four brothers leading a collection of Jewish survivors on a 4 year hide and seek game with the Nazi's. While surviving in the forests of Belarus, they fight the weather, the Nazi's, Russian resistance fighters and each other. The disagreements between Craig and his brother Zus (played by Liev Schreiber) add an internal tension to match all the external tension that plagues the group. This is not a nice movie (it is WWII after all) and the bloody and personal killing is pretty graphic (more emotionally graphic than visually). While the brothers and the story do an adequate job of showing the effects of killing and hardship on the psyche, the most telling moment came during a prayer. As the hiding community was gathered and listening to the prayer of a Rabbi, the petition to God was effectively "God, we wish you had not chosen us Jews to be your people. Please go choose someone else now. We are done being Chosen". Even though this is a bold demand of God, every member of the group nodded in agreement. It was not a shocking request for this group. At that point, the burden of being Jewish was so great that they were willing (demanding) that their entire identity be shed. Perhaps this is a traditional Jewish prayer of lament, but it points to the depth of suffering experienced and pulled me out of my desensitized, war movie viewing state to recognize something new about identity, community and despair.
4 stars (out of 5)
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