The Zookeeper's Wife (2017)

The actors were excellent. The movie was based on true facts , so yes , there was ugliness . One of the reviewers wrote "there have not been nazis since the 40's", well, I disagree. There are nazis still around , in America, and still filled with hate. Learn from this movie. We must not let history be repeated.

'The Zookeepers Wife' poorly handles a beautiful and inspiring true story. Based upon real life events that took place in Warsaw, Poland during World War II, this film fails to reach it's intended impact on the audience. The atmosphere of the film is misplaced and has an overall tone that doesn't belong. What should have been a tense film showcasing the impact the war had on zookeeper couple Jan and Antonina Zabinska, and how they responded to the atrocity, ends up feeling quote misplaced with an approach that waters-down the struggle the couple would have gone through. The film spends too much time on certain side plots that are not of importance to the narrative, and only divert the audience from the real story that we came for. Despite the poorly adapted narrative and misguided tone, the film fortunately contains several positive elements. In particular, Jessica Chastain's acting is nothing short of superb and is supported by great performances by Daniel Brühl and Shira Haas. The real-life animals used in the film offer a unique viewpoint of the war, and aid the film to be a visual delight. While it may be flawed in many places, 'The Zookeepers Wife' ultimately tells a unique and beautiful story of World War II that is led by a beautiful performance by Jessica Chastain.

Based on a true story: the title character, Antonina Zabinska (Jessica Chastain) assists her husband Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) in caring for the Warsaw Zoo, showing great affection and connection with the animals. After Germany invades Poland in 1939, the couple work together to smuggle Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to live in hidden spaces of the zoo and their home.This particular Holocaust story is certainly worthy of being told. It is in the same vein as "Schindler's List" in which citizens risk their own safety and lives to help others in great need.The trouble for "The Zookeeper's Wife" is perhaps in its timing. The best films in the Holocaust genre (including "Schindler's List") have raised the bar so high that it becomes more and more difficult to meet, let alone surpass, existing levels of greatness. The most recent great examples include "Phoenix" and "Son of Saul"- each released within the last three years.The English language is used in the film and spoken with Polish accents. While this helps to add authenticity, it is sometimes difficult to understand when the actors are speaking softly.The directing style in "The Zookeeper's Wife" (by Niki Caro who did a great job with "Whale Rider") is perhaps too standard though the same could be said of the screenplay by Angela Workman based on the book by Diane Ackerman. The early scenes of the invasion and the ghetto are powerful. And who couldn't envy Chastain as she provides affection for a couple of adorable lion cubs. While we can feel tension in the movie's second half, the overall effect just doesn't match those of other films on this subject. There seems to be an emotional distance between the characters and the audience.Had this film been released over a decade ago, it might have fared better. But compared to similar films of this era and earlier, it comes up wanting.

I enjoyed The Zookeeper's Wife and would recommend it to most audiences. Skillful direction by Niki Caro, excellent sets and costumes, a slightly washed-out look to the cinematography which nonetheless has a full range of color, and a capable cast. The story is based on the actions of the owners of the Warsaw Zoo, who saved the lives of more than three hundred Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland.Nonetheless, the performance of Jessica Chastain is the single most important factor in the film. Unlike many American actors, she understands that a Polish woman of the 1940s does not look, move, or carry her features like a contemporary American. So fully does Miss Chastain inhabit her character that I never had the sense of an actress making choices.The film is a bit long and a bit slow, like most films today, but not to a damaging extent. I particularly admired the way that the official from the Berlin Zoo who becomes a Nazi officer, well played by Daniel Bruhl, has certain scruples and personal moral standards although he embraces the Nazi philosophy. He's a villain, but not a cardboard villain, and part of the suspense of the film is waiting to see which lines he will cross and which he won't.