Its a story of how they took their zoo of animals and turned it into a zoo for humans. A look into a Polish zookeeper and her family and how the war affected their zoo, their pride and joy. Secondly, it gives us a side of the story that we haven’t seen before. This is one of the few films I have seen that unflinchingly shows the toll on animals during World War II, but it also is one that has a deep love for all living things and their fight to survive.Jessica Chastain stars as Antonina Zabinski in director Niki Caro’s THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE, a Focus Features release. In fact, some of this film - particularly the first 30 minutes - is so vivid and real it may be difficult to watch for those sensitive to scenes showing animals in peril or dying. The opening scene does just that in showing how she brings a baby elephant to life, and subsequent scenes after the bombing of the zoo sending these creatures running frantically through town are actually heartbreaking to watch. Of course we have seen many stories of the Holocaust brought to the screen, and though this one never reaches the heights of Schindler’s List it has its own place of honor and that is largely due to the sheer will of Antonina and the unwavering heart and humanity she displays not only for the people but also her animals.
This is the least successful part of Workman’s script as it ventures from the core of the remarkable story and drifts into more conventional melodrama, but the main themes of the film cannot be ignored, and Caro is skillful in building suspense throughout as the Zabinskis’ elaborate operation also involves shepherding the stowaways through a collection of tunnels underneath the zoo. The relationship between the two becomes tense as he falls for her, and engages sexually while she complies in order to keep the Zabinskis’ secret intact. The effort gets complicated when Nazi zoologist Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl) arrives with the offer of sending some of the most prized animals to Germany, where they would take part in a breeding program to produce superior species.
#Watch the zookeepers wife series
Jessica Chastain Teams With Todd Komarnicki & Christina Wayne For 1960s NASA Event Series Essentially they took the place of caged animals in escaping the wrath of the Germans, all thanks to the heroic efforts of the Zabinskis but particularly Antonina, who used all her wiles to save these people in dire circumstances. With her husband Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) they ran the Warsaw Zoo, and during the Nazi invasion turned it into a haven to hide hundreds of Jews during the course of the war. Deadlineīased on Diane Ackerman’s gut-wrenching and powerful book, The Zookeeper’s Wife stars Jessica Chastain in another superb performance as Antonina Zabinski. As I say in my video review above, director Niki Caro ( Whale Rider, McFarland USA, North Country) and screenwriter Angela Workman have crafted an inspiring and uniquely humane film that stays with you long after you leave the theater. Nazis, zoo animals and a remarkable true and uplifting story of one woman’s courage and resistance in sheltering 300 Polish Jews during World War II combine for a powerful, riveting and emotionally devastating film The Zookeeper’s Wife, which chronicles yet another little-known aspect of that momentous time.
0 kommentar(er)
