Zookeeper's Wife, The (2017) [Blu-ray]
Biography | Drama | History | War

In 1939 Poland, Antonina Zabinska (two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain) and her husband successfully run the Warsaw Zoo and raise their family in an idyllic existence. Their world is overturned, however, when the country is invaded by the Nazis and they are to report to the Reich's newly appointed zoologist (Daniel Bruhl). To fight back on their own terms, the Zabinskis risk everything by covertly working with the Resistance and using the zoo's hidden tunnels and cages to save families from Nazi brutality.

Storyline: The Zookeeper's Wife tells the account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, June 30, 2017 The steady parade of books-to-films continues with The Zookeepers Wife, Director Niki Caro's (Whale Rider) film adaptation of the historical novel of the same name written by Diane Ackerman. The film is one of technical excellence and a moving plot line, but not a plot line audiences haven't seen before and felt moved by prior. It's very good in a bubble, a little less impressive out in the field against the many like-minded films in its genre. The film satisfactorily explores one of the darkest points in human history not necessarily with a breath of fresh air but certainly with a unique perspective and against an interesting backdrop that serves as less a focal point and more a point of counterbalance to the greater narrative that's been explored with more depth, but certainly not much more raw feeling, in films like The Diary of Anne Frank, Schindler's List, and in the bit-less-serious but no less touching Life Is Beautiful.

Antonina (Jessica Chastain) and Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) Żabiński run Warsaw's Zoo in the years prior to World War II. Their love and care for their animals is second-to-none, impressing even a visiting German zookeeper named Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl), who also has an eye for Antonia. Their world turns upside down when, on September 1, 1939, the Nazi army invades Poland. Warsaw, and its famous zoo, are bombed. Many people and animals are killed, and most of the surviving creatures roam the streets and are executed on-site. As time goes by, Warsaw's Jewish citizens are rounded up for imprisonment. Jan and Antonia begin to take drastic measures to save the lives of their Jewish friends and fellow community members.

To be sure, there is much to like about The Zookeeper's Wife, though the film's narrative, certainly, doesn't lend itself to two hours of "enjoyment" in the more traditional escapist sense of the cinematic term. It's more accessible than some of the darker films of its category and places a bit more emphasis on character and action, but that contrasting, often combating clash between narrative dourness and hopefulness hangs over the film: dour in witnessing brutality and the inhuman treatment of people (and animals as well, in this film) and hopeful in the way these movies are always hopeful in the way individuals rally to save the innocent. And that's the catch-22 for a movie like The Zookeeper's Wife. It's not telling a new story. It's simply putting its own unique spin on it, focusing on its own little slice of a much larger, much more intimately complicated, but fundamentally black-and-white period of history. The film brings little new to the genre, but its strengths of performance, technical craftsmanship, and the continued historical import in an area of interest that even today remains emotionally relevant keeps the movie from falling too deeply into that gray area where one might even say it's "unnecessary."

Indeed, the film's technical credentials boost it above a middling midpoint. Jessica Chastain delivers one of the best performances of her career, possibly because it's her most understated. She blends compassion, smarts, integrity, and hope very well. Hers is a strong but balanced character who represents not simply the film's central protagonist but a character the audience can relate to, even in a world that feels so distant yet so familiar at the same time. The movie further enjoys excellent pacing, its two-hour runtime a blink of an eye, a remarkable achievement considering a central storyline that, as noted earlier, isn't exactly brimming with dramatic novelty. Action scenes are well put together, too. The initial Nazi invasion represents one of the most surreal, frightening, and heartbreaking sequences in World War II film history, depicting not only people fleeing from aerial bombardment but witnessing animals maimed and killed in the process, too, and in the chaos and aftermath both often shot on-site, the Poles for humanitarian purposes and the Nazis for sport; the random execution of animals by the invaders stands as one of the most powerfully effective moments in the film.

The Zookeeper's Wife may not be bastion of narrative novelty, but it does maintain narrative purpose, even in a crowded film, literary, and historical field. It's well done, touching, and told from a somewhat unique point of view, even as its central purpose rings very familiar. Strong lead performances and impeccable technical credentials carry the movie far. Universal's Blu-ray release of The Zookeeper's Wife boasts solid video, excellent lossless audio, and a few supplements. Recommended.

[CSW] -3.3- This is a unique take on the Holocaust story. It is based on a true family in Warsaw, Poland, from 1939 to 1945, with follow-up information given. The zookeeper's whole family is involved in resistance of the Nazis, helping many Jews to be saved from the Warsaw Jewish ghetto. *** SPOILER:*** Even though it is not a brutal film to watch as many of the other holocaust movies are the movie does have several shocking murders, the killing of zoo animals, plus the aftermath of a teen girl's rape, so it is not for those who are faint of heart! Still, the acting is consistent and solid. The scenery is lovely. The family is loving, and the movie is worthwhile watching. It gives good insight into our world situation now, with the many refugees!
[V4.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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