Defiance

Defiance is a World War II drama based on the true story of the Bielski brothers, Jewish farmers in German-occupied Belarus. After their parents are killed in the massacres of 1941, Tuvia, Zus and Asael escape into the forests they have known since childhood. What begins as a fight for survival grows into something larger: other fugitives find them, and the brothers take on the responsibility of sheltering hundreds of men, women and children. Tuvia favours keeping the community alive, while the impulsive Zus prefers to join armed Soviet partisans, and the tension between the two shapes the group's future.

Edward Zwick directed and co-wrote the film with Clayton Frohman, producing it with Pieter Jan Brugge. It was Zwick's eighth feature, following Blood Diamond and arriving before Love & Other Drugs. Daniel Craig plays Tuvia, with Liev Schreiber as Zus and Jamie Bell as Asael; Alexa Davalos, Allan Corduner and Mark Feuerstein appear among a credited cast of 75. Made for about 32 million dollars, it took roughly 51 million worldwide.

Audience responses were moderately positive, with IMDb users giving it 7.1 out of 10 from around 161,000 votes and TMDB users 6.8 from a much smaller pool. A critics' rating of 6.2 from 187 reviews places it below the audience score.